Origin Story: Part 1 - Haunted by the Truth
by ReaperOfLostSouls
Summary: Watching the death of her parents was one problem, but realizing the cold truth of her family soon became another. Meet Viola, a child forced into a life she never asked for, running to escape madmen who are after her blood. Will she escape or become another victim, like everyone else she cares about? Murder, violence, and swearing. Mentions of abuse. M to be safe.
1. Prologue: The Child

**A/N: Hey guys! It's been a while since I posted anything, but I feel confident in doing so. I've always had a long-extended OC story for the pokemon world, but never came up with a good way of presenting it. I always have this problem of discarding stories after I lose interest and after I clutter my mind will all sorts of other ideas, but considering I'm not doing much with my life right now, I decided to post this story. I think it's worth continuing, and I've reached a nice point where I can pause the story if I need to. Plus, lately I've been playing the pokemon games and playing out nuzlockes lately, so I guess I might as well start posting this story.**

 **Anyways, this story is a combination of the games, the anime, and the Pokemon Adventures story. Think of this story as one of many alternate universes out there in the world of pokemon. Some parts will be used, other parts thrown out, and we'll just see how it goes. I personally like to keep true to any source material that I'm using, but then again if I stay solely strict to the materials I am using then parts of the story will become typical and expected. I hope this pokemon story is interesting enough, and if you guys like it please comment, so I know that at least someone out there is reading this story.**

 **There's mentions of murder and violence, and a twist on the good/bad guy mentality of the pokemon world. This world I hope to portray will exhibit a lot of gray undertones, and if you're queasy to child abuse and death then stray away from this story. This is a story I began because of a 100 challenge, and if I decide to make multiple parts I'll probably reference another # in that challenge.**

! #$%^&*()

Ever since you were born you felt… different, strange, out of the ordinary.

People around you thought you were someone else, wanted you to act like other people. People they had lost and once loved, or hated and despised. But honestly, you were confused on who you really are.

You're one thing, but have to act another way. You are someone else, but need to be different than that.

What does that even mean?

You closed your eyes and sighed to yourself, slowly crawling out of your small bed to stare outside your window. For as long as you can remember, you longed to live in the woods. To sleep underneath the stars with pokemon, and watch the stars twinkling up high.

But… that's not how a human is supposed to live, apparently. Not a child, at least.

But during your short span of life, you've come across all sorts of strange and interesting people. People who act differently, talk differently from one another, and saw the world differently from each other.

Which made you realize that you didn't have to be the same as everyone else. Everyone is unique in their own way, and it's up to you to figure out who you are.

So in your small little bubble, looking out into the world, you stared up at the moonlight and sighed sadly. You felt as if your real self is within arm's reach, but who is that person?

Who is Viola?

Your own questions and worries keep you up at night, and not even the boogeyman can be the true reason for your fears. Do you have fears? You probably do, you certainly do…

You worry for your daddy, who you don't see all of the time. You worry about your mum, who worries for daddy all the time, whenever he's away.

And you worry about yourself. You worry about your friends and family, and yourself.

There's a lot out there in the world, and you wonder what is good and what is bad. What is healing, and what is destructive. You… want to uncover all of those secrets, even if it's scary. And is that a dream a child should have? Well… you do, for some reason that's your secret dream you want to fulfill.

To travel the world and discover its secrets. To be someone like a pokemon trainer, or even a ranger. To just… explore. Explore without any limits or bounds. No judgmental eyes upon you, as you let your curiosity truly take hold.

And if you die then you die, but you'd die doing something that makes you happy. Discovery, adventure. That's what you want, deep down…

But you're unable to go do that cause, well, you're just a kid, and kids cannot go out on adventures like that. Not without worrying their parents and other loved ones, and you love them all too much to go off on your own and leave everyone behind.


	2. CH01: The Tragic Beginning

**A/N: Hey! So now this story truly is starting. The prologue happened months before this chapter starts. Just a little blurb about our protagonist before shit hits the fan.**

 **This story stems from** _ **#90 Lost**_ **, of my new 100 Challenge**

 **I hope you ENJOY THIS CHAPTER and please COMMENT or FAV the story if you wish to read more!**

! #$%^&*()

An explosion caused you to fly backward, sending you flinging into the air, a cry leaving your breath, as your hands clawed around you until you slammed into the ground. A meek whimper of pain left your breath, but the pain wasn't as bad as it could have been. Your eyes quickly honed in on the scene in front of you, terror on your face as you saw a redhead man's backside towards you, as he faced the foe with determination on his face.

Your father's feraligatr barely had time to block the attack from the forretress that had used 'explosion', suffering a lot of damage in the process. It made you feel sick to your stomach, knowing that Fang barely had enough energy to keep battling, and the fact that Fang is one of your father's strongest pokemon.

"Violet!" you heard your father cry out over his shoulder, not daring to look back at you and rather kept his sights on the enemy right in front of him. "Go! Go now!"

You whimpered a little louder at the request. "W-where?! Daddy?! –"

"The cliff! You have to climb down the cliff!" he told you, but you quickly shook your head.

"B-but what about you?! –"

"I'll meet you at the bottom! Just go!" he told you sternly, ordering you to go, but you were scared, frightened, and didn't want to leave his side.

You blinked, hot tears streaming down your face as you stared at your father's backside. The way his long, grown out smoldering hot red hair bellowed in the breeze behind him, his black and gray jacket epically flowing against the wind. You had no doubt his bright silver eyes were narrowed and dark, though whenever he looked at you he always had a happy twinkle in his eyes. His little blossoming flower. His pride and joy.

You never will get to hear those words ever again. Deep in your gut, you had a sinking feeling you wouldn't be seeing him again.

But through the tears and the sorrow that slammed into you like a ton of bricks, you knew you had to go. Not just for yourself, but because your father wouldn't stand down until you were far, far away. Whatever evil is after his family, he is willing to protect what is his… till the very end.

And you let the hot tears flow freely down your face as you pushed your body to get moving, not giving your father any sort of goodbye, or words that indicated that this was the end. You didn't know what to do, and you weren't sure if this was the last time you would see him, but… you didn't want to leave him to handle this mess alone. It's just… you don't know what to do. You can't do anything. You're so weak and helpless that you'll only get in the way.

"C-come… on. Come on," you mumbled as meekly and weakly as possible, your slim little body slowly crawling to the edge of the cliff, trying your best not to look down to what was far, far below, and as your little body began to hang by your hands and feet off of the unstable rocks, your little eevee companion carefully jumped onto your shoulder, gripping you tightly as you began to descend downward.

But… not until you had one final look, worry and fear in your eyes, and you saw your father glance back at you, eyes filled with worry, but held a confidence that your father always seemed to possess, and he managed to give you a soft, stern smile, before turning his back on you to the battle he was, hopefully, winning… but you wonder if that's the case.

You began to climb down the cliff, your muscles already feeling tired and strained as you moved, but you pushed yourself to keep going. You had to. You had to survive… you just have to. You must. You must.

But the moment you looked past your feet at the ground, oh so far away, you let out a startled cry, almost losing your grip, as you desperately clung to the side of the cliff. More scared and frightened tears streamed down your face, the cold, crisp dusk wind was threatening to throw you off of the side of the cliff, plummeting to the rocks below. You saw that there was a large river at the bottom of the cliff, carved into the rocks and creating a deep canyon, but the water was rushing rapidly, and you were too far away to even think about letting go and diving into the water. You don't know how deep it was, if it was shallow or not, and even so there are probably so many rocks that by the time you hit the water you would smash your little body into the rocks, and possibly drown as well.

So… hearing a familiar yippy voice in your ear, you continued to move, moving one step at a time, much slower then before.

The shouting, the fighting, slowly became more and more distant as you willed yourself to move, the only thing keeping you moving was the thought of being completely trapped, and the only way to escape was downward, while realizing that if you were to fall, your companion will fall as well. And you doubt eevee will survive the fall, too.

But, suddenly, a familiar sight caught your eyes, and you couldn't help but smile meekly as you saw a large, proud honchkrow flying against the cliff face, staring down at you, speaking to you every once in a while in a belittling tone of voice. Don, your father's honchkrow. He was keeping an eye on you as you descended down the cliff, trying to encourage you to keep moving. You cannot help but wonder what's going up above your head, but you knew Don wouldn't tell you if the news is bad or not. Not when it came to his human master.

So, you kept going, your thoughts on the handholds and footholds you found as you climbed downward, your eyes trying to stay above or to the side, but always seemingly to look downward as you tried to find another foothold. Slowly, the ground became closer and closer, but soon your body grew tired and you had to stop and pant. You may be a pretty good climber, always getting yourself in the most strangest of places, but that doesn't mean you have the skills to be doing this! Climbing down the side of the cliff, without any security in case you were to lose your grip, and the moment you lose your grip you'll fall.

Fall… fall… and that's all you'll remember.

You pushed yourself to keep going, while your own thoughts and fears caused your body to shiver. Your placement of your hands and feet were weak, but there was barely any stop to rest, and at least you had gloves on. Gloves… they weren't climbing gloves, and the rocks were still cutting into your hands, your knees being stabbed by the rocks as you tried to shift downward, but you kept going, regardless.

That is… until you felt you hand slip, and you let out a shriek of terror as you completely lost your grip in your left hand, your eevee hanging onto your right arm tightly as he almost slipped off of your body. As you swung, your left food left its hold on the cliff, and you felt your body about to fall, to slip and fall.

Until Don swooped down as swiftly as possible, using his quick speed and bulky body to push your petite frame back against the cliff, the movement so quick that you almost lost your grip a second time. But you managed to grab hold of the rocks, again, the most stable rocks your hands to find, and you sighed deeply, in relief. "G-grazie … Don," you managed to say, though your fear and sudden jolt of adrenaline. You could hear your heart beat in your ears, your chest pumping rapidly as you tried to calm yourself.

It took a few deep breaths to calm yourself down, and the more you stayed in one spot the more your arms and legs hurt, but you began to move once more, realizing that you weren't too far from the ground, and at some point you'll reach some soil that'll at least give you a nice placement for your feet, as you continued to move downward.

But your body was aching, and this time when you slipped, you fell backward and landed on your back, tumbling down the gravel and rocks until you slid into the mud. A whimpered cry left your breath as you pushed your body off of the ground, turning to see that your eevee had rolled into the mud as well, but unlike you, he cushioned his fall by landing on you, first, before jumping off of your body and slipping into the mud. "Sorry," you responded with a meek smile, and you giggled as your eevee gave you an indifferent look before shaking his fur, mud flying everywhere and hitting you in the face. "H-hey! No need for that!" you snorted, but your attention went back to the top of the cliff, your eyes wide as you realize just how far the rock climbing had been, and wondering how much time it took you to reach the bottom of the canyon.

Whatever was going on up above, you could barely hear it. All you saw was an attack every once in a while, dispersing into the wind, and you noticed that the sun had already set over the top of the cliff, casting a hazy orange, red, and yellow glow upon the normally bright blue sky. But today, you could see the rainclouds starting to form, and by nightfall you wouldn't be surprised if there was rain.

Suddenly you heard Don squawking frantically, and your head turned upward, to the top of the cliff.

The world stood still as you saw a figure being thrown off of the edge of the cliff, Don desperately flying upward to catch whoever it was who was falling towards the ground below.

You felt your heartbeat quicken, your feet moving on its own, and you let out a desperately cry as you screamed as you saw your father falling to his death from above you, slamming into the large rapids before you could reach him. "Father! FATHER!" you screamed, your body impulsively running to the water, but you felt not only your eevee, but the honchkrow frantically trying to stop you, and all you saw was your father's backpack floating on top of the water, and ripped up pieces of black material as the water rapidly drifted by.

You screamed, screamed so loudly you heard the pokemon around you crying out in shock and bewilderment. You cried, hot tears falling from your face once more as you watched another person in your life leave you so suddenly.

And worst of all, this wasn't over, and you stared up to the top of the cliff with rising anger, your face hot and your vision blurry, but you could see that monster as clear as day, standing at the very edge of the cliff, his leering, glowing green eyes staring down at you from up above.

You felt so small, so fearful, so helpless.

But… you also felt anger, pure unquenchable wrath in your eyes, a deep throated growl leaving your breath, as he stared up above you in triumph. You let out a deep throated cry, the world around you feeling as if it were trembling, your vision going blurry, and tears streaming down your face.

You felt tired, felt numb, your body feeling weak and your mind exposed. You felt blank, horribly blank, as if everything around you stood still, and you were the only person that ever existed.

Your… your father just died, didn't he?

And… it's that guy's fault. That horrible, horrible excuse of a human being.

And… and… you're alone. You're hopelessly alone.

You don't know if you wanted to cry with all of the pint up anger in your throat or scream in horrible terror at everything that had just happened to you. But… instead of screaming, shouting, crying, you lost your voice and felt… numb.

Blank… and numb…

As if nothing existed. You didn't exist… You don't exist… you wish you didn't… exist –

"Violet!" you heard a voice shouting, your head slowly turning to see your eevee looking up at you, his paws on your shoulder, worry and anger in his eyes as he tried to shake you out of the trance you found yourself in.

"Correre!" you heard another voice, this time gruff and stern, trying to shake you from your nightmare, but what truly pushed you forward was when you felt a beak pecking at your head, and you stumbled to your feet, dried tears and empty sobs leaving your breath as you couldn't stop yourself from shaking and crying uncontrollably. "Corri, adesso! Violet, adesso!"

Your feet moved on its own, your companions following you as you stumbled away from the water. You felt your breath panting in your lungs, your mind slowly coming back to you.

You had to get away. As far away as possible.

The police! You know you shouldn't do this, but you needed to get to the coppers! Before something worse happens!

You felt your body running, aimlessly, running down the canyon, in the direction you and your… father had come from. Towards a town, nestled away in the middle of the forest, between two rather large routes. It was now or never, and never meant you weren't reaching civilization ever again.

So you ran. You ran as fast as you could, and you didn't know if you were being followed or not, or if your pokemon companions were following you. You just ran, ran as fast as your little feet could, sobs ripping out of your throat, and your body so tired and disoriented that you stumbled and tripped, but always managing to push yourself up onto your feet.

And the moment you saw that familiar cop car, and noticed a figure sitting inside, you slammed your body into the door and knocked violently against the window. "Help! Help! Please, help me!" you cried, snapping the officer out of his daze, and you knew you must have looked like a mess, but you couldn't find any emotion in you to build up your composure as you cried fresh tears.

You don't know where your father is. You don't know where that man is. And you don't know if your father's pokemon are alive. You felt helpless, horribly helpless, and you needed help. Any help, but you needed it, right now.

Or else you're as good as dead.

)(*&^%$# !

 _Grazie_ – [Italian] "thank you"

 _Corri [correre], adesso_ – [Italian] "run, now"

 **Yes, the honchkrow speaks in Italian, and in regards to Viola he'll only answer if you speak Italian to it, but I don't know if I should say there is an 'Italy' in the pokemon world or leave that ambiguous. Probably not, but assume there's some 'Italy' region out there, for the sake of the story.**

 **And I hope this story wasn't** _ **too**_ **dark for you guys, but yeah now you know where this story is going and what to expect.**


	3. CH02: Suspicious Coppers

You don't know how long you've been sitting in the cold, bland, interrogation room. Your stomach growled, because you were hungry, but you didn't find the stomach to eat anything, right now. Every so often, someone would come into the room to talk to you, ask you questions, before leaving. You did your best to stay true to the questions, so it wouldn't seem like you were lying, but…

You made a horrible mistake, going to the police.

Your pokemon and father's pokemon were taken away, hopefully sent to the nearby pokemon center for healing, but they were gone. The people who were after you and your father were long gone, and that man… his features burn brightly in your head, a horrible smudge on a perfect white canvas, but you didn't dare give too much information about him. only that there were a group of thugs that went after you and your father, cornered you at the top of a canyon, and your father was thrown off, while you somehow made it to the bottom without falling. You tried to remember every other face that you encountered that night, though the moonlight wasn't exactly bright so you couldn't see the details, but that man… you know his face, every detail, ever visible scar, the way he seemed to always dress, but you didn't give a full description, like the rest. Only a face among many.

But you know the police won't be able to help. You were just hoping they'd be enough to scare them away. Maybe catch a few, but… the culprits were long gone, and now you're all alone…

At least, in the bright light of the interrogation room, all alone, you could finally have some time to process everything. Everything you lost, and the mistakes you probably made along the way. You could feel the sting and pain of your elbows and knees, the cuts in your hands, and the scratches all over your face. You probably could have had worse, considering… everything.

Speaking of your **physical** pain, you glanced down at your hands, at the bandages wrapped all the way up your arms, disappearing into the cold, damp coat that you wore. This all felt… wrong. To go to the police, end up being mummified by a nurse, and being forced to be interrogated for hours on end… You don't even know how much time has passed, and you felt horribly tired, but you couldn't sleep. Not here. Not like this.

You need to get as far away from here as possible!

What if… they uncover too much? This was the worst decision you could have ever made, but you were scared, frightened. You had nothing else to turn to, and that car was the first thing you spotted. You're sure they're nice fellows. After all, so far the coppers have been awfully polite and sweet to you, probably trying to get as much information from you as possible, but still nice. You got to drink a few cups of water, now, use the bathroom, and you managed to stomach some hot chocolate, though you didn't sip from the cup until you made sure it wasn't drugged.

You probably looked suspicious by your actions, but you don't care. Your personal filter of being discrete and knowing what you wanted to show others and what you didn't has been thrown out the window, right now.

Right now… you just wanted to be alone. After all, that's what you should get used to. Being… alone. Always. Depending only on yourself for survival. That's what the bottom line is, isn't it?

And what's worse… you're probably going to be cornered and killed, and no one will really care. Just another kid that disappeared off of the radar… or it'll be some sort of triumph that you're finally gone.

That's the problem. You don't know who is truly responsible for all of this. An enemy of your father? Family? Or… something else entirely, that you cannot quite understand, but you need to in order to move on.

First mum… now daddy… and next… you. You're next and you're frightened.

But also very, very angry that you couldn't do a damn thing. That all you could do is run, like a coward. You can't be weak like that anymore, but… what can a kid do? Honestly? If you had nothing, no pokemon, no friends, how can you survive this on your own?

You cannot depend on others for your solution to your dilemma. You just have to figure it out, yourself, somehow…

But first you have to get out of this building!

The deafening silence was broken as the door to the room opened revealing, once more, another officer with paper and a pen, casually walking over to you and slowly sitting down in the vacant chair across the table from you. You gave him the coldest, dead eyes as you stared into his own, feeling tired and angry and cold, but you just felt… numb. Too numb to care anymore. "Hello, Ms. Mary. My name is Mr. Looker. I apologize for the constant interviews you've had to endure so far, but I swear to you that this is the last one –"

"I'll see about that," you pouted, the man glancing at you before sighing and shaking his head.

"You shouldn't need to be asked so many questions, but the officers here have been rather… inconsistent in what they're looking for. So, I am here to clear up the loose threads. Mary," he began, barely getting your attention as you stared at him with a tired, yet still irritated gaze, "Your father's name is Silver?"

"Yes sir. Silver. He and I have been traveling for months now."

"I see… and the two of you were cornered at the edge of a canyon by thugs?"

"They looked to be thugs to me. It was dark. It was hard to tell who or what they were, but for some reason they were after us… my father," you decided to tell him, and you watched as he scribbled notes down on his pieces of paper, your gaze following his hand, and you noticed that he is right handed.

"… Do you have any idea who could be behind the incident?" he decided to ask, and you figured he already knew the information you had told everyone else… and maybe he didn't want to rub fresh wounds that always made you start to cry.

"N… no. Not really," you told him, but deep down you had some suspects, but… you doubted your suspicions would be recorded, and in that moment you'll end up getting yourself killed. "Just… about a month ago, my father angered some people. I don't know who they are, but it may have been so bad that they went after us. I-I… I don't know if they were there just to kill him or to frighten us, but… you know," you decided to say, and he gave you a slight frown before jotting something down onto the paper.

"Do you have any relatives you could stay with? Any godparents or parent guardians? Any friends of your family who could be willing to let you into their home?" he decided to ask, a question you had only been asked one other time.

And your eyes went cold and dark, knowing what your answer would have to be. Even if you know some people, they would only be dragged into this horrible mess. If your father was alive right now, he wouldn't sell out his friends and family to murder and violence. You had an aunt, but even you don't know where she currently is, and she left for the same damn reason your father was probably murdered. And… well, your parents are both dead, and the grandparents you had known have passed away as well.

There was absolutely no one, and you weren't going to drag anyone else into this mess. Your mess or not, it's not their burden to bear.

You don't want to become someone else's burden.

"… No. There is no one, anymore. No one I know of," you told him honestly and he nodded his head, slowly standing to his feet and giving you a simple look through his gray eyes. Gray… you love the color of gray, but… right now, you felt irked to be staring at a person who held the same color of eyes as your father.

You just don't want to believe that he's gone.

"Thank you for the information, Ms. Mary. An officer will be coming by to bring you out of this room. I'm sorry, but the only accommodations this small police station has will be a jail cell, but someone will be giving you a blanket and a nice hot meal to eat, while everything is sorted out. I wish you well," he finished, leaving the room, leaving you, once more, in the cold and desolate interrogation room, the white walls and bright fluorescent lights causing you to sneer underneath your breath in annoyance.

Yep. It was a horrible idea to go to the police, but… well… if you cannot leave, then others cannot easily come in either. You doubt you'll be able to simply walk out the door, but… you still needed to escape this place, before they figure out that your name is a lie, and that you're not as truthful as you're claiming.

You just… want your father's death to at least be on record. For his memory to not vanish into nonexistence. Silver… and his child, Mary. That's not your usual alias name, but… maybe it's enough for others to think you aren't the daughter of a rather well known pokemon trainer.

You just wish this didn't have to happen at all. That you can be yourself and not have to worry about a damn thing.

But now… you are worrying a lot, and you swear that you're still in deep shit if you stay here. To be locked away in a jail cell until… whenever it is they decide to release you. You have a feeling you're going to end up in foster care, and you've figured it's just as bad as being placed into a prison. Forced to be part of the 'system' for the rest of your days…

Yeah… you don't want none of that, and the sooner you figure out a way to escape, the better.

! #$%^&*()

"Here you go, kid. Sorry about the bad accommodations, but we'll straighten everything out once our day staff shows up," the officer told you as he handed you a blanket and a pillow, but you managed to smile meekly at the man, trying your best not to give him a glaring and angry look.

"It's… fine, but I must know, where did you put my stuff and my pokemon?"

"I'm sorry, but right now your items are being kept as evidence. Your pokemon are currently at the pokemon center, being healed from their injuries. Once we release you, we'll give you back your items and pokemon."

"Oh… 'kay," you responded, letting yourself wander over to the hard stony slab, obviously acting like an uncomfortable chair and a bed at the same time, and you sat down, letting the stuff that you had in your hands flop onto your lap.

The officer gave you one more last sympathetic look before leaving you in the cell, closing and locking it behind him. You couldn't help but glare at the door, noticing just how… outdated these cells were, but from what you've gathered there are more modern and improved cells in almost every police station across the globe. It's just that some departments couldn't afford to improve everything, and you suppose here they only managed to improve only a few aspects of their station. You have a feeling that the door leading further into the back had better security, but here you only had to open the door to your far left in order to leave the holding area, and make your way down another security door before reaching a spot that you could easily escape.

You would trigger an alarm, but the moment you step out of that security door there was a flight of stairs, and a window. That window would be your opportunity to jump and escape, and the stairs could bring you to the ground floor, but you'd probably be apprehended at the stairs. So, the window was your best bet, and you inwardly smirked at the fact that they didn't think about checking your person for anything… suspicious.

Your coat, while torn and still damp, had some hidden compartments, and in your boots you had some secrets as well, but the easiest things to grab was in your pant pockets, and the fact that you were able to pass into a secure facility with a hidden pocket knife in your boot is the most hilarious and saddest thing that could happen. It just shows how bad the security is here at a local police station, or… because you're a kid they don't suspect foul play?

Whatever, you decided, but you slowly stood to your feet, letting the stuff on your lap fall onto the stone as you stood on top of the stone, grabbing a pair of bars and lifting yourself up, to look out a very small window that barely gave you any insight to the world outside.

The sky… was still dark, but to you it felt like hours had gone by, and surely it would be morning soon enough. Maybe your perception of time is a bit skewed? But you saw a flock of pidgey flying by, perhaps indicating that it will be morning soon enough, but other than that the only big thing you could figure out is that you're probably on the second story of the building. So… that's better than being on the fourth or fifth story. You have a chance if you jump out a window, at the very least.

You sighed, grabbing the blanket and pillow, and slumping down onto the stony surface, feeling tired and groggy. You usually have a very hard time sleeping, but for the first time in a long time you felt the need to sleep. To sleep… and perhaps wake up from this nightmare.

But you doubt it's a nightmare, even as you let your eyes flutter close and your head to feel comfortable against the fluffy pillow. You had your head facing the wall, your back facing the jail cell door, and you felt your body growing heavy… until you passed out due to exhaustion, wishing that everything that has happened to you was just a dream.

That it was just a dream… and not the horrible reality you now find yourself in.

)(*&^%$# !

 **Yeah. For the record, it'll be a bit boring for a couple more chapters. A lot of talking and not a lot of action. I tend to write too much inner dialogue with my characters, but hey that's my style of writing, but if I repeat myself or it's getting boring, just know that there will soon be a bit of action.**

 **And yes, Viola doesn't trust coppers, but for a good reason. She is just a little kid, and only has the impression of what the people in her life has told her about the police. Plus, considering where this story is going and the antagonists, her skepticism is reasonable.**


	4. CH03: Rocket Men

The sound of a door being opened, and chatter, stirred you from your napping. At least, now, you felt more refreshed then you had been moments ago, but you have a feeling you were only asleep for three hours… or maybe now five? Because your body still had the familiar feeling of needing sleep, but your mind did feel more alert and aware of your surroundings, instead of moving on autopilot and hoping for the best.

Regardless, you kept your back to the door and your face staring at the bricked wall, your eyes blinking as you were internally glad that the sunlight that now streamed in through the tiny window wasn't hitting your body, and instead fell upon a lone spot in the middle of your cell. You strained your ears to hear what was going on, but you hoped you looked like you were sleeping soundly, still, as the voices drew closer.

"Damn it, Jerry, I told you moving in broad daylight was a bad idea!"

"Not my fault you're an idiot," the other male voice snorted, but his voice was cut short as he grunted in annoyance.

"Enough you two. You're lucky you don't do much, or else you'd both be spending your days in prison. Now, stay in the cell and keep quiet," the voice of an officer snorted as he shoved the two thugs into a cell, a cell right next to yours. You could hear the door locking, and the ring of keys he had swinging in his grasp, as he walked away from the cells, stopping for a moment in front of your own cell, before continuing on his way to the left door, and leaving where he had come in.

"Keep quiet! I'll show you quiet! –"

"Shit. Fred, they have a kid in here," the softer toned man spoke up, causing the rowdier man to glance over into your cell, and you could feel their eyes leering at you, making you feel horribly uncomfortable.

"A kid? Geeze, they're going after everybody, aren't they? A bunch of assholes," the one you think is named Fred spoke up, and you heard the two shuffling, talking quieter amongst themselves, and you decided it was about time you started to stir and wake up.

As you moved, you were quiet enough that they didn't take notice that you were slowly sitting up, wrapping the blanket tighter around your body as you stared at the cell door and analyzed your situation.

Likely, since the cell is old, then you could simply pick the lock to get out of the cell. The door didn't seem to be locked, but the security door will set off an alarm for sure. You just have to hope that the window is open… and if not… maybe you should bring the blanket with you, just in case.

Lazily, you made your way to the lone toilet that was in the cell, quickly peeing as you figured your actions will be enough for the two to notice you had woken up.

"Eh? Hey kid! How are you doing?" Fred asked, grinning, but was nudged in the arm by his companion.

"Shut it. I doubt the kid can do anything to help us, so just leave it alone," Jerry decided to say with a glare in his eyes, but they both turned to look at you as you wandered back to the stony bed, sitting down and glancing over at the two of them, analyzing them with your keen gaze.

The loud man named Fred had a tall, sturdy build. His brown eyes were dark and leering, but his rusty orange hair flared behind his forehead, making you wonder if that was his normal hair color or not. The softer Jerry had a much slimmer build, and seemed to be shorter as well. Yet, he had spiky pitch black hair on his head, and light brown eyes that seemed soft, but you could tell he was the more intelligent and crafty mind between the two.

And it was he that decided to start talking to you, to obviously get information out of you. "So… kid. What are you in here for?"

"… What are you here for?" you responded with a glare, and the other man huffed in annoyance.

"What a rude kid! It's obvious, isn't it?" Fred huffed, pointing to the bright crimson red 'R' that was neatly placed onto his black shirt. "We're members of the notorious Team Rocket!"

"I thought they died off years ago," you decided to say in a blunt tone of voice, causing the man to growl in annoyance, but before Fred to respond to your insult his partner decided to speak for him.

"We're currently reviving our forces. Team Rocket isn't as gone as people want to think, but to be honest, even I think we're far from truly reaching our potential," Jerry told you, and you blinked a couple of times before sighing and looking away from the two, feeling a tad bored over this conversation. "… And you kid? Did you get caught stealing or something?"

"I'm… actually here, probably, under witness protection," you decided to say, turning your gaze back to them and glaring at them, but not because of them, "but the coppers, I doubt, can protect me from much. I'm just a useless target in here," you huffed, glancing away from them and wondering what sort of thoughts were now going through their minds.

"Hmm… got yourself into trouble, kid?" Fred asked, with a smirk, but Jerry looked less snarky as he noticed the tired look on your face, and the bandages all over your body.

"Is it your parents?" Jerry had to ask, your gaze snapping to look at him as he sighed and pointed through the bars at your hands. "You have bandages. Did someone beat you up?"

"If that was the case, shouldn't the cops put the kid at a center? –"

"They probably suspect that I'm not telling the full truth," you admitted, glaring at Fred before turning your gaze to Jerry. "And no, it's not my parents who did this."

"Oh… then who? –"

"I bet it's _boring~_ for you two to be stuck in a cell, but I don't want to go into the details right now," you snapped, turning away from them, your back turned towards them, as you stared out of your cell, and at the door that was so close, yet so far.

"Fine," Fred snorted in annoyance, "you little brat –"

"Fred, give it a rest. It's obvious that the kid has been through a lot," Jerry decided to say in a calmer tone of voice, but the huff that left his partner's lips was enough to give the man an annoyed look on his face. "Let's just figure out a way to get out of here, before we get into serious trouble," Jerry continued, hoping to get his partner to think about something else, and he smirked as Fred nodded and sat down, irritated, down onto the stony bench that could act like a bed, but not a very good bed.

"Fine, fine…"

Their conversation fell on deaf ears as you formulated your own plan. You glanced around, quickly taking note of the security cameras. You had about one on your cell, two were aimed at the Rocket members in the other cell, and you assumed there were a lot more that led out into the hallway. So… you'd be noticed if you make a daring escape, but you could probably manage it, if you were quick.

And… by the way the sky looked, it must be about dusk, and soon it'll be nightfall.

You haven't been told about anything, and you wonder what's keeping the officers. Maybe they figured something out, and are keeping you here until… they organize themselves so you're kept here for years on end, or worse. You have no doubt that if a kid like yourself disappeared for no reason, no one would truly notice. Not unless someone went looking for you and your father, and what happened to the two of you. If you died now… who would truly care? Who will take notice in time?

No one. You're on your own… and you need to take action as soon as possible.

! #$%^&*()

You patiently waited for night to fall, and you politely, and overly kindly, thanked the officer who gave you some food, but didn't bother to eat anything. You still didn't feel like you could stomach any food right now, and who knows what they could have laced into your food to knock you right back to sleep. Your gaze fell on the Rocket members, who were eating and chatting, not worried about their food at all. They had ignored you once it was clear that you weren't going to talk to them anymore, and the Fred guy found it eerie and strange that you were staring blankly at the walls and the ceiling, as if you weren't really there.

But you honestly weren't. You were thinking about what you were going to do, and how it was best to do it. You were preparing your mind for what was to come, as well as seconds the security cameras moved back and forth against the ceiling.

You had to make a break for it, which means that grabbing your bag isn't an option. You don't even know where it was, and you have a feeling you'll end up getting locked away if you tried to steal from the police, anyways. But, if you make your way to the pokemon center perhaps you could take your pokemon with you. And… the easiest way to move without being noticed is to cause a distraction.

And your distraction was sitting in the cell right next to you, chatting away like naïve people who simply don't know what's going to happen, to them.

But if you do manage to escape, where should you go? You don't have a home to go back to. That place isn't a spot you could ever return to, and returning to the spot where your father died would be suicide. Who knows who could show up and try to take you down? Is there someone you could go to? Well… there are a few, but… you still don't want to get them involved in your problems.

Your best bet is to head west, towards the port city. It's days away, and you'll have to pass a few towns and another big city, but that's the spot where you could possibly gather belongings that could truly help you. Without your traveling gear, you're poor and weak and have nothing. But, there is a storage box that your father has been renting for months, perhaps years, probably full of your family belongings that you can take with you. The stuff will probably be sold away once the people running the storage facility realize that no one is going to pay them at the end of the month, but while you're there, if you can manage, you can send a letter to one of your father's friends… and then disappear, completely, never to be seen again.

That's the best thing you can come up with, without involving anyone else. You'll have to break into the box, but if you're quick you can gather everything you would ever need and move on. You know your parents kept old, sentimental and non-sentimental items in that space, and after your father sold your childhood house there is stuff from the old house as well. It sucks that you cannot be honest about any of this, or even take back the items that, now, rightfully belong to you, but… you have to do this. It's the best choice you could come up with, and you don't want anyone else to die because of you.

But, where will you go from there? What will you do? You don't know, but you're ready to start moving forward, at least, and if you make it to the port then you'll plan your next step from there –

"Are you going to eat that?" you heard Fred ask, your tired gaze staring at the man blankly before you sighed deeply, suddenly standing to your feet and walking over to where your disgusting cell food was getting cold, picking it up, and placing the tray down on the ground, right next to the two men's cell.

"No," you responded sternly, and you turned away to look up and out the window, noticing that it was finally dark, but you still didn't feel confident in trying to disappear… yet. The lights from nearby buildings were still bright and barely dimmed, and maybe you'll wait until those two fell asleep to escape?

"You should eat," you heard Jerry say, even though his partner in crime was currently devouring your food, causing his companion to glare over at him before turning back to you and staring at you with sympathy. "Kid, when did you last eat? –"

"None of your business," you snapped, but you didn't bother to see their reactions as you noticed, with wide eyes, a flock of murkrow passing by, with a familiar lone honchkrow right behind the bunch, suddenly gesturing towards the building, as if the much larger bird was giving out some sort of order. Your eyes blinked curiously as about three murkrow broke away from the flock, and you made eye contact with one, just one of them, before it squawked dramatically, getting the attention of the honchkrow, who swooped down and landed on top of a light pole, glaring at you from afar.

"If you think they'd drug you, the police are nicer folks then that, especially to kids," Jerry continued, though you barely heard him as you gave the honchkrow a quick little wink before turning and sitting back down on the stone bed, sighing to yourself as you finally acknowledged the man with an annoyed look on your face. "… You've been through a lot, huh?"

"Been through enough," you shrugged, glancing towards the left door before turning back to the Rocket member. "You know, they can probably hear us."

"Probably, but still, I don't think kids like you should be causing trouble," he decided to say, but you shrugged your shoulders and looked away. "… Are you stuck in some sort of abusive relationship or are you running from something?" you heard Jerry ask, and you snapped your head to glare at him, only to notice his partner was sitting on the floor by your cell, also looking at you curiously, though kept quiet, as if this was a plan the two had come up with.

Or maybe they're both as equally bored as you, and you **do** need to waste some time.

"… Running. My parents were the best, but I'm not running from them," you told him, and the man frowned.

"… Are you an orphan?" Jerry asked, and in that moment you glared and snarled at him, but slowly stopped as you turned away, staring down at your painful and weak hands.

"… Now," you answered, meekly, and the man frowned at that.

"Shit. What sort of people did you piss off?" Fred had to ask, but before Jerry could tell his partner to keep quiet you sighed, turning to the two men, and they quickly kept their mouths shut to hear what you were going to say.

"Honestly, I don't know all the details, but I have my suspicions… My father's employers may have decided that he was more of a liability, or maybe he angered them somehow. All I know is at some point, we had to start running… but where? We had no place to go, and maybe it's fitting that we were cornered in the first place," you pouted at the thought, staring off towards a random wall and glaring at it. "Like a bunch of scared and frightened rattata. Gods!... I can't believe this all happened… I just cannot help but wonder if my father screwed up so badly that he ended up getting his own wife killed because of it. I'm honestly wondering who's to blame, right now," you decided to say, letting off the frustrations you've kept in your gut off of your chest, even if it is to a couple of strangers. It felt a bit good to be truthful, even if you're not giving away too much, you hope.

"… A bunch of thugs are after you for no reason, huh? Must be tough."

"Probably why the kid doesn't like us," Fred agreed, but you glanced over at the two of them before smiling meekly and shaking your head.

"No. I never said I didn't like you. Just can't afford to trust anyone, right now," you told them, your eyes gazing up at a security camera as it looked directly at you, stalling for about seven seconds, before turning to stare at the two men, for seven seconds, and then turned to stare at the far wall, for five seconds, then turned back to the men, for seven seconds, before looking back into your cell, for seven seconds.

"… Have you ever thought about joining a gang, kid?" Jerry finally dropped the question he's been wanting to do for a while, and you slowly turned to stare directly at him, your eyes glaring as he meekly gave you a soft smile, as if he was trying to make the question seem normal and ordinary. "I joined Team Rocket for the sole purpose of protection. My father was an abusive tyrant, and my mother was too scared to do a thing, but when my father got into debt with some loan sharks, that's when our lives went downhill. Threats on our lives, almost being killed off more than once, and always looking over my shoulder, but by joining Team Rocket not only did the loan sharks leave us alone, but I am now able to start earning money, enough that I paid off my parents' debt, and my mother is in a happier place, now.

"So… you know. I know us Rockets have a bad rap sheet, but there are benefits, even for kids. Runaways or orphans, it's a way to make something of yourself, without society throwing shit at your face and calling you a lowlife or trash."

You couldn't help but stare at Jerry blankly, while Fred was staring at his companion with shock on his face. Probably, Fred hasn't heard this story from his partner before, but you couldn't help but wonder if this guy was telling the truth or not.

And even if he is, Team Rocket is a bunch of bad guys!... But Jerry does have a point. You just… don't know if you'll be walking right into a trap, and teams are just bigger street gangs. Thugs and thieves who will do anything and everything to get what they want. Do you really want to associate yourself with those sorts of people?

And your father… he would be horribly disappointed if you did such a thing, but then again… considering the circumstances… would he be more understanding if you were only joining a group of thugs just to survive? The world is a harsh and cold reality, and right now you're all alone and helpless.

"Nice advice, but… I don't need help with my problems," you ultimately stated, but deep down you were still thinking the idea over.

Your hesitant attitude was enough to satisfy the man, who began to converse with his irritated and confused partner, and you had to wonder if this Jerry is some sort of secret recruiter for Team Rocket. Regardless, you doubt you ever will. And besides, even if you did, who knows if you'll end up shot in the face one night or killed by your family's enemies. At least alone you can move about quicker and swifter, without holding anything back.

But… Team Rocket… you've always had mixed feelings about that particular team, and you're not so sure if they could really be helpful or not. And even if they are, your father told you to never get near the team. But… you **are** at your most desperate, and that's the sort of people that are recruited, young people who have reached their lowest points, and are exploited for it.

Yeah, no, you're not joining. Hell no.

But… you are going to use them, that's for sure, and all you have to do is bid your time and wait till it gets much, much darker.

)(*&^%$# !

 **Ah. Wow. Now we're introduced to some random Rocket grunts! I haven't decided if Fred and Jerry are mere grunts or agents, but yeah. Our little protagonist is going to attempt to manipulate them, but we'll see how that goes.**

 **So expect some action in the next chapter.**

 **And I don't know if I'll go back to Fred and Jerry later, but I wanted some random OCs that no one knows, and introduce them just in case I don't see a use for them later, or I will us them. I don't know. But I hope you guys ENJOYED this CHAPTER! The next one will a bit more fun, I promise.**


	5. CH04: Sorrowful Departure

**A/N: Hey guys. Sorry that I haven't updated in a while. My mind has been preoccupied on other ideas, and life in general, but here's the next chapter! Before Halloween! I may or may not post this same story on a different writing website, under the same title name. I don't know yet, but if I do I'll give you guys the update on that, and if no that's fine as well. ENJOY this next chapter and SEE YOU SOON!**

! #$%^&*()

You pretended that you were falling asleep, but in reality your eyes were staring at the wall, deep in thought, as you heard rustling from the cell right next to you. Eventually, you heard Fred starting to snore, but you could tell Jerry was still awake, or at least sleeping upright, which you assumed would be very uncomfortable.

Deciding that it was about time to take action, you slowly stirred, glancing up to notice that a murkrow had perched itself upon your window's sill, looking down at you as it glanced around the vast human room you were situated in. You couldn't help but smirk inwardly, knowing that at least Don was alright, and he always had a way of getting others to follow him.

Typical of a honchkrow.

But, you know everything is going to get complicated very quickly as you slowly sat up, wrapping the blanket around your body as if you were cold, to notice that Jerry was leaning against the bars of the cell, staring off into the distance, before his gaze fell onto you. "Can't sleep, kid?"

"I usually can't," you admitted, shifting down to sit upon the floor, scooting close to where the man was currently leaning against the bars of your cell, though in actuality you were just getting closer to the door to your own cell. "… I know a friend with a situation like yours."

"Oh?" he blinked, glancing over to you as you shifted lightly underneath your blanket, reaching into your pockets to grab a couple of thin wires you always stashed in there, exactly for these reasons.

"Y-yeah… He lived in the city, while I was living in a town. It was a few hours drive into the city, but my mother brought me because we needed to get supplies from time to time. Our little town didn't have everything, plus it was a chance to see something new."

"I see," he responded, and you smile meekly to him before letting out a tired breath.

"Anyways, I'm not blind to the fact that everyone experiences problems in their life. Some worse than others. Back then, I felt bad for him cause his mother was neglectful, his birth father was nonexistent, and his step-father was a complete ass. I… don't know what happened, but I hope his family turned out alright. H-he had other siblings, so… I can only be hopeful."

"Yeah… Hope is nice to cling to," he smiled lightly, though regrettably, "but that doesn't mean you shouldn't put in a bit of effort. There are things I regret doing to get to the place I am now, but without the actions I had taken I would be in that exact same situation all over again, or worse. I just guess my actions are finally catching up with me," Jerry decided to say, but he noticed that you were shifting slowly, standing up, and his gaze fell upon you as you shifted right next to the door of your cell. "… Kid? –"

"Actions do speak louder than words," you decided to say with a slight smirk on your face, your eyes staring at that particular camera that you knew would be on you, pausing for a moment and looking as if you were leaning against the cell, looking bored and tired, until the camera moved and you quickly plunged your wires into the hole outside of the cell, twisting the wire with your ear against the lock, knowing it'll take some time, but time isn't something you can afford to waste right now. "But I'm not staying here and getting myself cornered and killed," you continued with a slight glare in your eyes as you concentrated, and the man watched you with slightly shocked eyes, probably thinking a kid your age wouldn't be skilled in picking locks, but you've learned a lot from your father in the short amount of time you got to travel with him.

Plus, picking locks is a particular pastime your mother used to yell at you for doing, all the time. Always ruining the doors to your old house because you messed up on picking a lock and got a wire stuck inside, or even gum or something rather stupid that you are too embarrassed to fully remember.

But you knew you couldn't finish picking the lock in only nineteen seconds, but when you heard the door click open, you quickly took the wires out of the lock, staring at the camera, keeping your hand on the door so it'd stay open, to notice that the camera moved to stare at you right at the moment you took the wires out. And when you heard no alarm or movements from outside, you sighed deeply to yourself before turning to the awake Rocket and smirking in his general direction. "I hope you two know how to get out of these old style cells, or else you'll probably be seen as accomplices to my escape."

"You're a crafty kid," Jerry smirked slyly in response, but he also could see the tired look on your face, and he could only assume that you're hungry as well. "… Maybe we'll see each other on the outside."

"Perhaps. Here," you decided to say, throwing the wires as discretely as you could into the other cell, hoping the wires didn't bounce away as you gave him a tired look. "I'll keep in mind that your organization could be helpful, but that doesn't mean I'm ever going to join," you told him, your eyes staring at the camera, and you waited until it began to move to stare into the Rockets' cell before opening the door, quickly, but moving it slowly and stopping it before it could slam back into place. Then, you ran as fast as your little feet could carry you to the left door, your hands turning the knob, only for the knob to click and open for you, and you couldn't help but wonder if these people or stupid or just naïve.

You didn't look back as you rushed into the hallway that you knew would have cameras everywhere, the blanket over your head so your features wouldn't be easily recognized by the cameras, and you put your hand against the security door, letting out a deep breath.

This is the stupidest idea you've ever had, but staying here, under the thumb of the Pokemon League, is suicide. You doubt the police will shoot at a kid, but the alert that you're here, and alive, would be noticed, and even if you don't at least try to escape it'll soon be discovered that you're lying.

Either you're caught now or later, but you need to get out of here, or at least attempt to.

So, in a split second, you opened the door, and you heard the security alarm beginning to blare, alerting the building that there are prisoners trying to escape. You didn't give your actions a second thought as you rushed out of the room, to the window, and you couldn't stop the relieved smile on your face to notice that the window was wide open. The fit was small, but not too small for a child, which is why most would assume no one would try to use the window to escape. But you jumped as high as you could, managing to snatch the bottom of the window, and you used your arm strength to pry yourself through the window, half of your body hanging out of the building and the other half wiggling through the small window hole.

You realized that you were on the third story of the building, not the second, and the drop was rather far, but if you can hit the flowerbed with the blanket then you should be somewhat alright.

So, as you sucked in a breath, and knew that you couldn't turn back now, you shoved your way out of the window, not bothering to grab hold of anything and attempt to climb down, as you freefell through the window, and the world felt as if it was moving in slow motion.

It's the same feeling like when you fell out of a tree when you were a year or two younger. It's the same feeling you had as you saw your father freefalling off of the cliff, to his inevitable doom, but this time, it was you that was falling, and you had to act quickly and not hesitate in the slightest.

You flipped over so the blanket and your backside was beneath you, and you tried to crumble up as much of the blanket as possible, to break your fall. When you hit the ground, you hit the bushes, and your body was tangled up in the shrubs as you desperately tried to free yourself from the entanglement, as well as make sure that your body was alright.

You felt fresh scrapes and trickles of blood, but you weren't in horrible pain, so you figured you didn't break anything. As you reorient yourself, you managed to flip yourself out of the bushes and onto the grassy ground, right beside the police station building. You glanced around, making sure no one noticed your fall, and that no one was suddenly rushing over to see what had happened. You have no doubt someone will notice the blanket, but hopefully that won't be till later.

Seeing nothing coming at you, you hastily began to move from behind the bushes, until you reached the edge of the building, and move against the shadows lining the wall. You could hear your heartbeat against your ears as you moved as quickly, but silently, as possible, and with a strange amount of luck, you managed to slip away from the building undetected, for now, your feet moving faster and faster as you slipped into an alleyway, making a beeline through the city and distancing yourself from the station as quickly and discretely as possible.

)(*&^%$# !

You don't know how far or hard you were running, but you rushed as fast as you could through the town, hoping that you were making some sort of progress towards a destination. Murkrow began to fly around you, sometimes in twos, other times in threes, and you wondered how in the world Don was able to command so many murkrow to keep an eye on you. He really is like a godfather, isn't he? It's a bit creepy when you think about it, but you don't let your mind dwell on the thoughts of what pokemon really think about themselves as you finally spotted a red painted roof, and noticed that the building was closed for the night.

You discretely made your way over to the building, hiding behind bushes and a tree, your eyes leering at the building's backside as you thought about the best way or getting into the center and finding your pokemon.

It was at that moment that your father's honchkrow landed on a branch above your head, looking down at you expectantly instead of squawking, which you both knew would alert anyone to your presence by the building. "… Devo entrare. Qualsiasi idea?" you decided to ask, and you knew the honchkrow could overhear your quiet voice as you heard a soft coo in return. "The power box?" you responded, your eyes glancing at the box only a few feet away, against the wall of the center. Deep down, you know that isn't a good idea for the pokemon inside who need to be attached to a constant flow of energy, but centers always have backup generators that turn on the moment their main source of power is turned off.

"Dove sono gli altri," you asked the honchkrow, and you glanced up to see two murkrow fly over to a window, on the first story of the building, meaning you could probably sneak inside instead of having to use a door… hopefully. At least, when escaping. You glanced at Don and the two of you nodded, before you moved downward and began to move slowly, hoping you wouldn't be sighted as you snuck over to the power box, and reaching into your boot for another stray wire. This wire wasn't as straight as the ones you used at the police station, but at least here no one seems to have noticed, or realized, that you're snooping, and if you act quickly enough no one will not that you were even there. Besides, you know the murkrow would alert you to any humans or pokemon workers, and you trust Don to know what he's doing, as a lookout.

You just hope the police haven't figured out where you've gone, yet.

You carefully pried open the power box, a bit surprised that it wasn't locked. Your wire crept back into your pocket as you realized that all you had to do was move a switch, and you flicked a yellow switch down, noticing that the dim lights in the building completely turned off, and an eerie red glow appeared around the box. Quickly, you moved away from the box and the door that will surely open, moving into some bushes that just happen to be right next to the edge of the building, and close to the door.

You watched as a Nurse Joy walked outside with a bouncy looking chansey, and you waited for your moment as she glanced at the box curiously, flicking the switch back up and pressing a few buttons on the box panel, before you watched the nurse leave with her pokemon, the chansey walking into the building first, accompanied by the nurse.

Quickly, you dashed out of your hiding spot, stopping the door from closing at the split second. You held a breath, your foot keeping the door from shutting completely as you waited a few moments for the pair to pass by. You don't know how long you waited until you began to peek inside, and when you saw that no one was in the hallway, and no one seemed to notice the back door was currently cracked open, you crept into the center, carefully letting the door close silently behind you as you made your way into the pokemon center.

The pokemon center is built almost identically to a human center, or rather a hospital, except there were less rooms, and a lot more technology wired for pokeballs and different pokemon related issues. Some towns and cities have their centers being one in the same, and others have them separate. It seems that this town has their pokemon center separate from a hospital, but that just made it a bit easier. Sure, thieves would aim for a pokemon center instead of a hospital, but the security at a pokemon center isn't as severe as one at a human center. So if you just walk carefully, and make sure your coat's hood was on top of your head and hiding your face, you should come out of this alright.

You recalled the room the murkrow were pointing out to you, and you took a right, creeping down the long white hallway, until you almost reached the end of the hallway. You hoped it was the second to last room to the corner of the building and carefully opened the door, your eyes peeking inside before you swiftly moved into the room and quietly let the door close behind you.

The room was rather large, enough for several pokemon. You noticed that most were hooked up to wires and tubes, and the thought of your father's pokemon being in such a spot made your stomach ache. But, you needed to leave as soon as possible, so you looked at the sleeping pokemon, most stuck in glass containers so they could have a constant flow of clean air and their needed medicine, until you reached the end of the room, realizing who had been placed into this particular room.

There, sat a severely cut and scratched up weavile, his breath shallow as he tried to get some sleep. Right next to the weavile was a bruised and cut up little eevee, his fur coat as glossy as snowfall, and you smiled meekly between the two pokemon, feeling your eyes starting to prickle with tears.

In front of others, you could usually put on a brave face, but seeing anyone, certainly pokemon, in states of distress and pain, made your heart naturally ache. You felt like crying, bawling over the fact that it was your fault, but… you know the weavile won't like to see you crying, and he seemed to be in worse conditions compared to the eevee.

Eevee… you couldn't protect your eevee… at least, you felt that way, deep down in your gut. If you cannot even protect a small and weak pokemon that you whined to bring with you, how can you protect anyone else?

You sighed, deeply, slumping down onto a lone stool chair, staring at the two pokemon with regret on your face. You shouldn't even bring them, you realized. If your father's weavile is in a such critical condition, surely the others are just as injured. Did they all survive? You wish you knew, but… at least you got to see them, one last time, before you left for good.

However, before you could even think about leaving, you felt a familiar paw on your leg and you looked over to see your eevee up and staring up at you with his bright snowy blue eyes. The two of you didn't need to speak to know what you were thinking, and the eevee could only sigh at your indecisiveness before stepping away from you and nudging the weavile gently with his paw.

You felt your eyes getting watery as the weavile slowly woke up from his deep slumber, only to jolt awake, flinching at the pain, before giving you a crooked smirk. "So. You're alive, kid."

"Y-yeah," you responded to the weavile with a sad smile, but the pokemon snorted at you and turned to notice your eevee was also awake, and that no one else seemed to have woken up, before he sighed and turned back to look at you.

"You should be glad that you are," the weavile continued, though to everyone else they would only hear a pokemon making the usual pokemon sounds. You don't know how or why, but for some reason, since you can remember, you could understand what a pokemon in saying. Maybe your Auntie Yellow rubbed something off on you? Or it's just an untapped power that humans have, but never use, and like learning other languages it's easiest to learn how to communicate if you're an infant or a child.

But regardless of your own strangeness, you've grown used to having to talk to pokemon, and you sighed at the weavile's words and shook your head. "T-this time… I'm not. I wish that everything played out differently –"

"Kid," the weavile snorted, weakly placing his pair of claws onto your hand, causing you to look at him with tears prickling at your eyes, "if I know anything about Silver, he would do everything in his power to protect you. The fact that you got away is enough to relieve his worries, and you should never think this mess was your fault. In fact…" the weavile pouted as he let go of your hand and slumped back into his soft pillow, a distort look appearing upon his face, "I know it isn't your fault… and honestly it isn't your father's either. He was betrayed by those he trusted."

"… Y-you mean –"

"The Pokemon League, not those humans you have to call aunt and uncle," the weavile quickly explained, realizing the fearful look that was appearing on your face. "… Though, maybe one or two of them are involved, I don't think the old human Dex Holders are to blame for this. No. The League gave your father some sort of hope, but they quickly took away that hope the moment they…"

"They… w-what?" you couldn't help but ask as the weavile sighed and shook his head.

"Let's just say, this isn't the first time they threatened Silver's kin and kits, and if they know that you are still walking around… I don't want to think about it," the weavile pouted as you gave him a meek smile.

"Well… a-ah Icy," you smiled meekly, getting the weavile's attention, as well at the attention of your eevee, and you glanced between the two of them nervously before letting out a deep, tired sigh, "They probably do."

"What?! –"

"I ran to the police a-and ended up in an interrogation room, and then a cell. They call it 'witness protection', but I know they were just holding me to finish me off," you pouted before smiling meekly, "but I escaped, you see, but I need to start running as soon as possible."

"I see," the weavile responded, sighing deeply to himself as he turned his gaze to your eevee. "Everyone else, from what Don has stated, cannot be moved right now, but you should take Spirit."

"W-wait," the little eevee exclaimed, his paw upon the weavile's arm, "Icy-sama I –"

"Spirit, it's your duty as the kid's pokemon to go with her. Plus, the rest of us cannot follow –"

"If you don't want to come with me Spirit, that's fine," you smiled meekly, trying to put on a brave face, but the two pokemon could easily see through your smile to notice how teary you were getting at the thought of being on your own, again. "I-I won't keep you from what you want to do –"

"I'm worried about the fact that I'm not that strong," the eevee snorted before turning to the much older and wiser pokemon, and knowing exactly what the weavile would do in such a situation. "I won't be very useful to you, but… I-I honestly want to stay with you," the eevee continued, turning to look at you with a determined look on his face. "After all, you're my big sis right? We take care of family, and right now I need to take care of you."

"B-but with that logic, what about –"

"I'll keep an eye on the rest of your father's pokemon," Icy decided to say, his bright red eyes glaring out the nearby window and knowing you were losing valuable time, just sitting here and chatting with the injured and incapacitated pokemon. "If we can, we'll escape as soon as we can, but knowing humans they won't care too much for us, only to keep us contained. You, Viola, need to start running as far away from here as possible. Do you have a plan?"

You smiled meekly and gave him a slight nod of your head. "K-kind of… It's a plan, at least."

"Then good. Spirit, you go with the human kit and keep her safe. You two depend upon each other, alright?" Icy huffed and you gave him a meek and sad smile, having a feeling that you won't be seeing him for a very long time, if at all.

"O-okay… Icy, I-I'll take care of Spirit. You can count on me," you smiled meekly, while your eevee could only sigh and stand on all fours, affectionately nuzzling his cheek with the tired weavile's.

"I'll keep my sis out of trouble, but **you** get better too, 'kay?"

"Of course, kid. Before you two know it, I'll be tracking you down and finding wherever it is you've both gone," he smirked between the two of you, but you know he wouldn't be starting his acquired freedom by finding the two of you. No. He'll probably look to see if his master actually died, and if he does find a body… well… you'll get to hear about it, that's for sure. "Now, you two get going, you hear."

"Of course Icy. I-I'll see you soon, but rest and get better, first," you told him in a stern tone, though he only grinned mischievously at your request, the two of you both knowing your words meant almost nothing to the weavile, almost being the key term. After all, these days he sees both you and the shiny little eevee as his own little kits, and while he'd rather be going with the two of you, he knows deep down that you need to be on your own, for now.

And besides, weaviles have to let their kits go eventually, and he can only hope for the best.

"L-let's go… Spirit," you told your eevee, your body moving to the window as you unlocked the hatch and began to push open the window. You noticed that the two pokemon were silently, yet quickly, talking to each other, and after your eevee nuzzled the weavile's cheek one last time he jumped onto his own empty bed, leaping into the air to land on your outstretched arm, walking onto the window sill, and jumping outside. You jumped out the window and turned to the weavile, smiling meekly at the obviously weak and tired pokemon. "Good luck," you decided to say with a smile, your hands grabbing the top of the window and pulling it down, making sure it was at least closed before slumping back down into the bushes and sneaking away from the center.

"Good luck… kid," the weavile sighed deeply, closing his eyes as he felt the pains that surged throughout his entire body. Unlike most pokemon battles, these pokemon were trained to kill and severely injure. He was lucky that he survived, but… he knows you wouldn't want to hear about the others, and how even he's worried about one particular pokemon that he's spent almost an entire lifetime with.

But… this was their problem, not yours, and it's a shame that he couldn't do anything to stop this. Icy has no doubt in his mind that you blame yourself for all of this, but you honestly shouldn't. The enemies that your father has collected over the years should have nothing to do with you, but humans think differently, and surely they will be after you as well.

He can only hope you find a safe haven soon enough, or else… he didn't want to think about it, not right now, but deep down he can only hope for the best.

Plus he knew that Don will now be following the human kit, so he shouldn't feel too worried.

! #$%^&*()

 _devo entrare_ – [Italian] "I have to go in"

 _qualsiasi idea_ – [Italian] "any idea"

 _dove sono gli altri_ – [Italian] "where are the others"

 **So, now we meet the crafty weavile, Icy. Not exactly a name the famous Silver would call his own pokemon, but let's just assume it was Violet who randomly named the weavile… or her mom. Haven't decided on who yet, but probably the kid.**


	6. CH05: The Runaway

You don't know how long you've been running, or far you've gotten, but eventually you had to stop and turn around, panting and sighing deeply at the town you had left behind far off in the distance.

You were surprised that no one managed to follow you, even though the police station was still in a big commotion, and you wonder if those Rocket guys got out. Probably not, but you were hoping they would create a good diversion, and apparently that plan was successful. Sure, you feel a bit bad, but not enough to go back and try to help them.

And you were more surprised that no one seemed to be chasing after you to… well, kill you. No thugs or assassins, no creepy guys with glowing green eyes. Just you, in the woods, with a couple of familiar pokemon by your side.

Being amongst nature, in the middle of nowhere surrounded by the wild, gave you some unease that you haven't felt in a long time. You know that humans tend to not walk this far into the middle of nowhere, and even if they do you'd overhear the frantic conversation of 'trespassers' from flocks of birds and other wild pokemon, that wish to remain wild and free. What most people don't realize is just how many wild pokemon there are, compared to the 'wild' pokemon that let themselves wander onto routes and get caught by trainers.

But you can understand why. Some want adventure, while others want to grow stronger. And a small few happen to get themselves caught by accident, and are forced into pokemon battles, or whatever else the human decides to have their pokemon do.

That's why you find it sad that humans cannot naturally talk to pokemon. If they could, maybe everyone would be a lot happier?... Or hear all the bullshit pokemon actually say to one another.

But, honestly, you were just glad that you were far away from civilization, and for the first time in a while your mind felt a lot calmer and clearer. The woods, the middle of nowhere, did that to you. You weren't distracted by the bright unnatural lights of the city, or having to overhear tons of human conversations, on top of pokemon ones. Here, you only have to keep your mind on one sort of conversation, and you had a lot more time to dwell on your own thoughts.

Thoughts that… you don't want to think about, but you're certainly going to, still.

And unlike in the jail cell, out here you aren't afraid of suddenly being pulled out of your cell, forced into a room or into a van, and executed, without any way of defending yourself.

Your mind, you know, is rather morbid these days, but… after you watch your parents die right in front of you, and not because they got old or some freak accident, you just get a strange fascination with death and the dying. There are a lot of ways to die, you had begun to realize, and it's just unfortunate that your family seems to have the bad luck of dying in the worst ways possible. But… maybe these thoughts of your own mortality is just a way to cope with everything that has happened. Everyone eventually dies… but sometimes they die sooner then what it says on their expiration date. Like a bottle of spoiling moomoo milk. You could drink it the day it expires, or you finish it before that date. And you aren't shy to the idea of pokemon deaths either. Some occur naturally, sure, but most are because of accidents in battles, human influenced or otherwise. A pokemon out in the wild doesn't survive as long as one does among humans, but then again if a pokemon can last for a very long time then they are considered 'wise elders' to the rest of the pokemon.

You find it fascinating just how strange, yet similar, pokemon are to humans. If only others could see what you see and hear what you hear… but honestly, you personally think it's inevitable for pokemon to interact with humans, but if that's a good experience or not depends on the interactions.

Like Team Rocket. Everyone says they are bad guys and need to be sent to prison, each and every one of them, but you know a few guys who would think otherwise, seeing them as a stronger group compared to their shabby, small, tiny and weak gang of street thugs, and some of your parents' friends have mixed feelings about the team. Sure, they do bad things, but when people are desperate they do desperate things. And when you are the leader of such a group… does that mean **you** are the bad guy and manipulator, or just another victim to circumstances?

Honestly, you don't even know why that was being debated or not, but your father never seemed to find his own peace with the idea, and now you can only wonder why that was.

Now… you can no longer talk to him and ask him questions. You can no longer learn from him, and try to figure out what sort of guy he is.

But… you did learn a lot from him, and your mother, and now all you can do is move forward with their teachings and hope you're prepared for what is to come. You have no doubt that you'll have to continue to run, perhaps for the rest of your life, and even if you confront these assholes who killed your parents, that doesn't mean the running will ever stop.

The world is a cruel and harsh place, but you just wish it wasn't that way at all… but it is, so you must accept that and move on.

You need… to move on… but first you need to grab as many things as you can before continuing on your long and grueling journey.

! #$%^&*()

"Sir. The child has escaped police custody. What should we do now?" a feminine voice spoke over the phone, and the man who was listening to the woman's words could only grumble underneath his breath.

"Keep an eye on the police. If they hear or see anything that has to do with a runaway child who fits her description, call me directly. If the child has disappeared, then call me in about two weeks with a detailed report."

"Yes sir," the woman responded, before the phone was disconnected on her side of the line, and the man sighed deeply as he dropped the phone back onto the phone box, glaring at it as he thought about how messed up this all is.

How could he be so blind? He spent so much time listening to his son's wishes that he failed to notice that he was in trouble. And now…

They have found no body, but considering the circumstances his body may never be found. And the kid… she's vanished, never to be seen again, or so most would think.

He increased his resources and sent his top agents to various points around the region, where the police report had apparently come from. It's only a matter of time until she's spotted, but then again whoever she must be running from would be thinking the same way as he, and hopefully the girl is smarter than that.

But then again, she's a kid. A little girl that can only do so much.

He personally felt horrible, responsible for all of this. If he had only known what was going on ages ago… he would be better prepared, and perhaps been able to save his son from his death.

He can only imagine how traumatized the girl is. Is she crying? Thinking it's all her fault?

He knows that feeling oh too well, and now he regrets not being there for that little happy family of his. But… he didn't want to destroy the good that his son created for himself. He bets that his mere presence would taint whatever those two had together, but… he should have been more aware when he heard his daughter-in-law was killed. He should have put more precautions into place, and insist that his son be aware of them, at the very least.

But no. That never did happen, and now he regrets everything that has happened… and wishes he could turn back time to stop this from ever happening, again.

"Sir?" he heard a familiar voice from his door, and he sighed deeply, quickly sitting upright, but the obvious distort and worried look in his eyes was hard to not notice as his secretary came in, carrying a tray full of tiny snacks and some strong black coffee. "Are you alright?"

"Of course I am," he huffed in response, but she shook her head and set the tray down on the edge of his desk, where a spot had been cleared for exactly that purpose. "Now, I want you to get me the reports from our Johto branch. Every little detail that has happened, I want the reports combed through in case any of our field agents saw something suspicious –"

"Boss, I understand why you're going out of your way to look for a little girl, but we have other reports that need to be looked over –"

"My granddaughter is out there, probably scared out of her wits, running for her life right now. If there is something I can do to prevent her death as well, then I'm going to stop it," he huffed, his eyes now glaring at the woman, though she didn't seem rattled by the dark glare in his eyes in the slightest. She knows that the man is more worried than he is angry because she's seen his **mad** moods before… and those days aren't pretty to watch. "What's the point of having a large organization under my thumb if I can't utilize it when I need to the most?"

"… She is a little girl with black and dark purple hair, and blue eyes that look grayer then they do blue, right?" the secretary asked, and the man gave her a suspicious look.

"Yes…"

"About seven?"

"Yes –"

"We'll find her, sir. I'm sure if we all keep a lookout for a girl that matches that description then we'll eventually run into her –"

"Perhaps, but she **is** her father's child," he huffed, though a slight smirk appeared on his face at the idea of his only remaining relative being just like his late son, and… well, himself. "If she's smart, she'll find a way to change her appearance. Probably dye her hair, at the very least. Plus, she won't be staying in Johto for too long. I doubt she would even dare. And we need to be discrete about the fact that we're looking for a little child. Our agents and grunts may get the wrong idea about the girl, and that's why I only have my most trusted officers on the case, right now."

"Of course, sir," the woman bowed, and he huffed and waved his hand at her, hoping to shoo her away. "… Is there anyone I should call for you?"

"No. That's fine. Just get the reports for me," he told the woman, watching his secretary walk away and walk out the door, and he couldn't help but feel a bit suspicious.

Usually, this girl would spend more time laboring through his multitude of tasks then ask him simple questions. Was she really worried or had an ulterior motive in mind?

He couldn't help but determine that she had some ulterior motive, and that made him not trust her in the slightest. _'She'll have to be dealt with, later,'_ he decided to himself, but he had a few other ideas up his sleeves, and he hoped he could, at the very least, trust the officers he had searching for the girl.

A girl named Mary with a father named Silver. Silver isn't a very common name to have in the first place, and Mary is obviously an alias name from… The girl is smart, but not smart enough, or perhaps it was out of desperation that his spies uncovered the report in the first place?

Either way, he knows now that he was much too late. Not only has the girl already escaped, but who knows where she is now? She probably thinks that no one can be trusted, which will make this task of his all the harder to accomplish. But… perhaps she's running to a reliable adult that she knows, and if that's the case he shouldn't bother himself with the girl anymore.

But… people do crazy things when they're desperate, and he can't be too sure about how deep of a hole his son made for himself, and his family. The fact that he couldn't trust his own father to help him was what stung the most. Did his son really hate him that much that he couldn't rely on his own family for support?

The more he thought, the more he got pissed off and angry, but he shouldn't lose his mind over this. After all, there's still an organization to run, and grandchild missing or not, he need to keep a calm head so no one would see him as suspicious… or vulnerable and weak.

So, he sipped on his coffee, glancing back at his papers as he began to go over a completely different report, in hopes that his mind would be distracted for a while. He can only wonder what is going through the little girl's mind right now, and he hopes that she'll show up in one of the locations that he knows Silver would probably find himself in, if he wanted to gather some of his belongings. Or, at one of his friend's houses, or another person he would rely on for support, if he truly needed it.

But the real question is who does the girl know, and what is her plan? To find a safe haven, or to disappear completely?

If it's disappearing then he has to find her, fast, and whatever is going on in his own team he needs to find any traitors and swiftly get rid of them. He doesn't like to come to conclusions, but… he has a feeling there are spies within his organization, and his own grandchild's life is on the line, because of them. He'll have to be sneaky if he can execute this plan of his, and possibly do the job himself, if no one else seems capable of undergoing the needed task at hand.

)(*&^%$# !

 **I think you guys can already suspect where this story is going, but even if you can't, I wanted to write a different point of view, in the second scene. I was thinking of writing '? POV' at the top, but I decided against that and just let the story write itself. Since I haven't posted anything in a while, here's the next chapter. I may get busy again so here's another chapter to hold you guys over.**


	7. CH06: Worrisome Thoughts

**A/N: Hey guys! So, here's another chapter. I decided to** _ **italicize**_ **Don's Italian/honchrow language so it wouldn't get too lengthy and confusing. I've been using google as my translator source, so I know my Italian isn't very accurate. And yeah, there is no Italy-equivalent region, so for now I'll just be calling the language 'Italian', even if that's not some make up pokemon region. We'll just assume it's some sort of region. I think in the future, most, if not all, of my translations, other then English, will be italicized. Well… rather, everything other than the language Violet speaks will be italicized. Maybe as more of the story goes on it'll change a bit, but that's what the italicize sentences mean. It won't just be for Italian, but as the story goes on you'll see how I show other languages in the text. It'll also be italicized, but whatever. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. THANK YOU FOR READING and I hope to hear from you guys.**

! #$%^&*()

You spent days walking through the woods, foraging for berries and plants as you walked past as well as gathering water. You were hungry, thirsty, but as long as you kept finding food and fresh water to drink, it didn't matter how many hours or days you may be starving, or if your throat is sore due to not drinking on a regular basis.

But, the only way you honestly survived for this long was with the help of your friends. Don and Spirit. They were always keeping an eye out for you, though Don seemed to be putting in more of the work. It was Don and his occasional flock of murkrow that would point out where the next drinking spot would be, or the best spot, and safest place to gather berries and edible plants before moving on. You'd love to eat some meat, if you were going to be honest with yourself, but you couldn't do that: harm another living being. Watch them die, but your own hands… You don't think you could do it. Not right now.

But then again, it's survival of the fittest out here in the middle of nowhere, where pokemon roam freely and humans are seen as a strange sighting or nuisance. On several occasions, you've had to make a run for it, being chased by one hoard of angry pokemon after another. But, you respected the territories that were drawn out by invisible borders, and eventually you found yourself close to a route, which will lead right into the port city.

Olivine City. That was the destination you had in mind. If you make your way into the city at night, sneak into the storage facility and your father's storage garage, you can be in and out of that city as quickly as possible, and then be on your way.

But… to where? Even after spending days upon days wandering the mountain ranges of Johto, you still didn't have an answer to that question.

Well… you could jump onto the first boat you see, or possibly backtrack into the woods, moving further up north and past the barely charted regions of the wilderness. Where there is barely civilization, and the nearest town won't be for miles around. It would be a risky move, but doable.

And if you die, or someone else dies, no one will never know about it. You'll just disappear out of existence… like the famous Pokemon Trainer Red, of Pallet Town, who disappeared into the north and never came back.

Yeah… you could be just like him… or you could be a bit smarter and simply jump onto the first boat or ship you see, and hope it's making its way out of the region, to a random location so you could start completely new. New name, new identity…

You forgot you're going to have to do that, now. Sure, you'd put yourself under alias names and codes all the time, but this time it's different. To start completely new, as a completely different person… what do you want to name yourself? Who do you want to be? And what if someone figures out that you're lying?

So many questions, and right now you didn't have any answers.

But, you did know one thing: you're not alone anymore. Don is your eyes, and Spirit your ears, and maybe the three of you could start off fresh, in a completely new location… Or just Spirit and yourself, cause you doubt Don wants to stay as your lackey for the rest of his life. He's too much of a proud honchkrow to get tied up in your messes.

Regardless, the three of you set up camp along the edge of the route, before you would even step into the familiar paved roads of human civilization, in a cave high above the landscape, overlooking the route, with the city lights right there within your reach. It was a temporary nest for a bunch of murkrow, and they gladly let your strange group into their home, since you had food with you, of course.

It's been strange to not make a fire to stay warm, but your coat was more or less built for the sort of cold weather you'd find in the mountains. Though, you couldn't go through the snow. That's suicide, but staying along the creeks and river streams, and making a windy trail to this particular spot was doable. But, for the first time in a while, you got to rest your feet and finally get some much-needed sleep. You've been on high alert ever since you left that small town, and any abnormal noise woke you up from your light slumber. Now, you felt the need to close your eyes for as long as possible, and you crawled deeper into the cave, slumping down onto the cold floor with your coat wrapped tightly around you and your hood shielding your head from the rocky ground beneath.

"… _You're not eating?"_ you heard a huffy voice ask, and you opened your already closed eyes to notice the big and proud honchkrow in front of your face, your eyes looking up at him as you gave him a meek smile in return.

" _No. Not right now. I'm tired –"_

" _Eat, or you'll starve,"_ the honchkrow snorted at you and you slowly sat up, letting the honchkrow place a few berries into your opened hands before he jumped over and perched right in the spot you had placed your head, and you rolled your eyes as you carefully put the berries into your mouth, knowing that he won't leave you alone until you eat something.

"… _Say, Don, I was wondering –"_

" _Don't pull a fast one on me, hatchling. I know what's going through your mind, and no. I'm not leaving you just because you think I want to."_

" _Oh… Okay,"_ you blinked, looking away a bit shocked that he said exactly what you were thinking, and your eyes turned to notice your eevee was conversing with the murkrow, a bit irritated by their antics before he snatched up an sitrus berry and began to walk over to the two of you, who were situated far into the cave, close enough to see the outside world while far enough that no one could see that you were hiding amongst a flock of murkrow. _"… Don, I… I_ _ **need**_ _to ask, okay? I don't want anyone to have to do what they don't want to. So… are you sure you want to keep following me? You can find something else to do with your life, you know."_

" _Maybe, but not only did I make a promise to Icy, but it wouldn't honor your father if I left his little birdie behind. I need to keep a keen eye on you,"_ he glanced at you with narrowed eyes, and you gave him a sly smirk in return, which caused him to roll his eyes and you to giggle lightly.

"What'd I miss?" Spirit asked, only to be pecked in the head by the much larger pokemon. "H-hey! –"

" _Speak in Italian, boy,"_ Don snorted, and your eevee looked over at you with a pout while you shrugged and sighed deeply in return. _"… I'm surprised you've caught on with the language, hatchling."_

" _Yeah, well… The old lady would be happy to see me speaking her native tongue,"_ you smiled at the thought, but the memory of your old forgotten life made you frown slightly, and you reached out for Spirit, who was wiping his mouth with his paw, and you picked him up before placing him upon your lap, the eevee staring up at you curiously as you ran a hand through his soft gray fur. _"… I-I'm not that great at it, though."_

" _You sound good enough,"_ Don stated simply, proudly, as he let his wings open slightly behind your head _. "But, you still have that obvious accent of a foreigner."_

" _Well I_ _ **am**_ _from Johto. Of course I have an accent,"_ you smirked at the bird before sighing, picking up Spirit and placing him off of your lap as you grabbed your hood and placed it back upon your head. _"I'm tired, okay? I trust that this flock you've found here won't get me into unwanted trouble."_

" _Of course not. You may be a hatchling human, but you're under my protective care. Now get some sleep, if you seriously need it,"_ he stated, flapping his wings and lifting himself off of the ground, leaving you and Spirit in the corner of the cave as he went to talk to the murkrow who were currently conversing with one another, stopping once the presence of a much bigger and powerful bird of their species showed up to talk to them instead.

"… Do you think it's a good idea that Don keeps following us?" you had to ask, and the eevee gave you a curious glance before sighing and shaking his head at your question.

"Violet, if you keep pushing others away you'll end up with nothing, in the end. Just be happy we're all willing to help you out with… whatever problems you humans are coming up with."

"Yeah… o-okay. I guess I should just be thankful," you mumbled, slumping your head down back onto the ground and giving the eevee a curious look. "… What do **you** think we should do?"

"You're asking me?" the eevee asked, and you shrugged your shoulders as you closed your eyes and sighed deeply into the side of your hood.

"Yeah… yes I am. I mean… once I get some supplies and scrounge around my parents' old things, I want to disappear. So… any ideas as to where or what we should go do?"

"Hmm… I never thought about it," Spirit decided to say, and he slumped down onto his paws as he blinked, looking at you as you began to fall deeper and deeper into the sleep you so desperately needed. "… Someplace warm," he told you, and you smirked in your half dream-like state of mind.

"Hmm… sounds nice… mum came from a warm place, didn't she?" you grinned at the thought as your eevee smiled lightly in return.

"Y-yeah… Maybe we can discover the island she came from, if you want."

"Of course I do," you huffed, cracking an eye to glance over at your little pokemon. "Of all the talk my parents gave about family, they were very secretive about their own background. I… I want to uncover those secrets. I-I may not like it, but at least I'll figure out where I came from, you know?"

"Yeah… I get it. It's like when you told me about my mother. The truth wasn't pretty, but I learned about my past," he smiled to you and you nodded, closing your eyes once more and curling up into a little warm ball.

"Yes… It sucks… but maybe if I can figure it all out I won't be so afraid," you decided to say, though you weren't so sure about that statement. You could end up even more afraid if you learn about the secrets your parents desperately tried to hide from you, but you needed to know, and what better way to start a new life for yourself then searching for that place your mother always talked about? And even if you don't find that particular spot, maybe you can disappear completely and find a place where you can finally belong.

You want to belong, somewhere, and feel safe and secure, but then again your world could end up crashing down all around you again. Nothing is safe… but if you always live in fear what sort of life is that?

)(*&^%$# !

A small little figure began to sneak into the large city, a hood upon their head with their hands stuffed into their pockets.

Spirit and Don were around here somewhere, following behind you as you walked along the streets, like a normal human. Being separated from your two pokemon companions was a little difficult, but it enabled you to heighten your senses and spend some time alone.

It may be strange to want some quiet for yourself, but you've spent days, probably a week or two, wandering the wilderness, listening solely to pokemon and having to wrap your mind around the fact that your powers are getting stronger. Those abilities you've had, ever since you were born, are slowly growing in strength.

Spirit used to be the only pokemon you could communicate with. In fact, it was he, when he had just hatched and you began to take care of him, that you both realized that you could communicate with the pokemon. Understand their language. Spirit probably thought that humans talking freely with pokemon was a normal thing, but what you have isn't normal… and you learned that it certainly isn't, over time.

And then, after a while, you could communicate with pokemon you knew, and now you can understand pokemon you had only just met. It's a strange ability, but according to your Auntie Yellow, and Professor Oak, it's simply uncommon. No, there are other abilities that you still haven't tapped into, which will only make you stranger… and you wonder how you can tap into that untapped potential.

You no longer care about being seen as a freak. Right now, you're just trying to survive. You recall the confused and concerned looks your mother would give you, whenever you told her a pokemon was speaking to you or asked insane questions that she thought was impossible, while your father wasn't so sure about his one and only daughter. They were concerned over something, and with Auntie Yellow you had a better idea of what that concern was. It's not like she dislikes people, but she lives in the woods, like a hermit, only because it's only pokemon that understand her. Her words, not yours. She's grown tired of talking to other humans, knowing the looks they give her whenever she uses her strange abilities.

She told you that you have abilities just like her, but you're certainly not at her level. Not at all. Sure, you don't have to touch the forehead of a pokemon in order to communicate, like telepathic powers that psychics use, but other than your strange ability to talk to pokemon freely, she is certainly a lot more naturally skilled and powerful, in your eyes. She can heal pokemon, for starters, and sure that exerts a lot of energy, but the most you've ever been able to manage is a little bruise or cut, and you'd end up just as exhausted as she would healing her pokemon like she was a chansey at a pokemon center. And are there other abilities you have that you haven't figured out yet?

Either way… you don't see yourself as very strong… but you **need** to get stronger. You **have** to, and how? You have no idea how to accomplish that, but perhaps practicing and trying new things would be the first step, you suppose.

There's a lot of things that can make you weak. You learned that from your father. He told you all sorts of ways to get stronger, both physically and mentally. _'To reveal one's true emotions, shows weakness.' 'To not exert your effort to the fullest is to be lazy and weak.'_ There are all sorts of lessons your father taught you, and while that kind of makes him a cold person, you understood why he taught you such things. The world is cruel and always complicated. You may think you have the answers, but it doesn't mean you ever did. Everyone is simply living out their lives as best they can, but you need to rise above the others… and get stronger and much more powerful.

Strength and power. It's an obsession your father seemed to crave, even though he never could obtain that 'absolute' power he always wanted. He learned that even if he was the best of the best, the strongest of the strong, there will always be someone to bring you down and make you weak. It's an inevitable thing that will happen, apparently. There's always something better and stronger then you are, and maybe at a different time and place that person has a person stronger and better than they are. It's a cycle, and you shouldn't obsess over the idea of getting stronger.

But… you kind of have to. It's either that or accept defeat, and you're not one to lose anything with grace and dignity. You will fight as much as possible to get your way, even if you're completely wrong. It's happened before, whenever you've argued and debated with your father, and he was always right and you were usually wrong or misguided. But… this time, if you don't rid yourself of your ignorance you may not have much longer to live.

You can longer be weak. You cannot give up. You won't let yourself give up on everything that easily.

You… need to gain that power and strength, even if it means you lose yourself in the process. If you don't, then you're as good as dead.

And if you manage to succeed and power through everything… you just hope there's enough of yourself remaining that you haven't become a cold and bitter old woman. You wouldn't be surprised if you end up that way, but in the meantime you need to see what items you can scavenge from your parents' things before moving on, and perhaps starting completely new.

You don't know how long you've walked, moving strategically throughout the city, hoping that nothing will stand in your way, before you finally found yourself along the docks.

The storage box your father had bought was along the harbor, which means you're so close to the water, and can find a ship to board as soon as possible. You doubt your father left any money behind, but maybe you can pawn something for some cash? You haven't eaten well since… the incident, and you may need more things.

The problem is that you'd have to wait till morning to pawn stuff, and by then you'll feel more unsafe and unsure. At least in the dark, under the cover of night, you can sneak about and perhaps jump onto a ship without anyone noticing. You may even reach the destination without ever being caught. And, well, you do have some berries stashed away to eat later, and you're hoping that there are some pokeballs you can use to help stow away your pokemon with you. You know that pokeballs help keep a pokemon's basic needs at bay. From eating and drinking to feeling clean and healthy. They can stay in their pokeball for years, and when they're released they'll feel just as emotional as the moment they were sent into the pokeball.

Which makes everything rather… creepy, in your opinion. Sure, you've noticed that pokemon can look out into the real world from their pokeballs, if they care enough to do that, but you could spend years in a pokeball before being released, and by then the world has changed around you. It'd be such a strange thing to experience, you personally think, but… pokemon experience that all the time, and you wonder if they're truly happy being used by humans like this.

Probably not. Most seemed to have accepted their fates, but you can tell they are unhappy. Just… humans are the ones who built that technology, so there's nothing anyone can do about it now. An inky black splotch on a rather gray world. Another problem that will never be fixed, sadly.

And that's probably what most pokemon have decided to think about the situation. It's just a part of life, a way of living. Like how you need to come to terms with the idea of being chased for the rest of your life, and even if you kill one there will be more that will chase after you. Some will stop chasing you, like those pokemon in the wild, and others will keep pursuing you.

You sighed underneath your breath, shaking your head. You hate how your mind wanders like that, but then again, what does one think about whenever they are walking about, minding their own business, trying to get from point 'A' to point 'B'?

You were glad to notice that the only problem you had was a high fence, and after hearing a murkrow squawking out for you to listen, you found a hole in the fence that was hidden between the storage area and a warehouse, probably used by all sorts of interesting as well as creepy people. Creepy because you honestly don't know what they'll do, but you probably fit into that 'unsure' category of humans as well.

You slipped through the hole, your breath becoming quieter and held as you began to move about, hoping that nothing will notice you, like some sort of guard pokemon, as you snuck your way through the facility. There were a whole bunch of different crates, numbers upon the entrance as they held untold secrets, while there were cement buildings that had many garage doors, also locked and hiding their contents inside. There was a lone cement building, in the center of the storage facility, that had much smaller locker boxes, but was being guarded by a man watching the security cameras, with the lights on, and a faithful pokemon by his side.

But you ignored all of that, internally glad that you didn't have to attempt to go past those two, as you snuck around to the other side of the area, to a building marked as 'T'.

#257 in Building T. That was your family's storage garage, and you've only been here on one occasion. It was a few weeks after your mother had died, when your father bought the facility to hold your family's items, before deciding it was time to move on. He continued to pay for the storage every month, when the money was due, but you know that will end soon enough, and then your stuff will no longer be your own, but someone else's.

Well… you hope to send some sort of mail or letter to a few of your parents' friends, before you disappear completely. You know about two or three who will be quiet enough to not alert your enemies on what you plan on doing, as well as tell all the others on what happened. You'll use the same process your father used, and you can only hope your mail isn't intercepted before it reaches the right destination. You have another idea to just send a quick letter through murkrow, but you know Don is the only one who could find the person you wish to send the letter to, and you doubt he wants to leave you, yet. Maybe into the future, when you're less scared and on the run, but not yet. Just… not yet.

You pressed a set of buttons on a keypad to open the T building's main door, and you hoped no one noticed as you walked into the facility, though maybe someone did. You don't know. Either way, you need to break into your garage anyways, which will look rather strange and suspicious to do, but the key was with your father, and… well, there's no way to get it back now.

But you were just lucky you didn't come across anyone who may be using their garage space as their own temporary, and sadly some cases permanent, living quarters. Then you'd have to talk or give suspicious looks and, well, you didn't want to have to do that right now. You'd rather just be alone and sneak about, not be noticed, and fade into the background. So, when you finally found the right garage number, you realized that this part of the garage was quite dark. The buildings were always illuminated in some sort of light, considering that the buildings didn't really have any windows. But #257 was placed far into the building, where the dim light up above had burned out ages ago, and the one right next to it was flickering eerily. To most kids, this would seem creepy and scary, but for you it was quite normal, and you didn't feel the presence of ghost-types so you had nothing to fear.

You smirked when you noticed that Spirit had found his way to you, walking from behind you to stand in front of the garage door, staring at you expectantly. You had a feeling that Don was waiting outside, with all of his little murkrow buddies, just in case there was trouble, but you gave him a nod before kneeling down, pulling out a couple of long, thin wires, and began to pick at the lock. It was a basic key lock, and it only took you a couple of tries before you managed to unlock the door, your hands holding onto the door as you looked around quickly.

When you noticed no one was around, and hoping that a camera wasn't staring in your direction right at that moment, you slowly pushed open the door, trying not to make too much noise, and the moment you could crawl in you did, Spirit already inside before you reached for a flashlight that your father had left by the door, before carefully closing the door behind you.

You paused, waiting and listening for any noise outside, and when you heard absolutely nothing you sighed in relief, your hand pushing a button on the flashlight to turn on the light, and you slowly stood to your feet.


	8. CH07: Forgotten Past

**A/N: HEY GUYS! Since it's Halloween, and I'm not exactly doing anything today, I decided to post the next chapter in this story. During this entire month, I was trying to come up with some sort of Halloween story, either as a short pokemon story or from a different manga/anime, but I couldn't think up anything. So, yeah, this'll do. Maybe I'll make up something tonight, but I doubt it. So this is good enough.**

 **And this chapter is a bit slow, but we are moving forward in the story in the next chapter. A lot of thinking and memories going on in this chapter, and you smart guys can probably put together the pieces of where this story could be going… but we'll see. I'm still deciding if this will be a first part-er in a two to three part story. It's basically about Violet's childhood, and I'm deciding if I'll use a nuzlocke I have finished in the summer as the starter point of her trainer adventure, or not. I don't think I'll decide on that until I get further in this story. I plan on wrapping up this first part to the story, first, and then after maybe I'll write two stories simultaneously. I don't know. I haven't decided yet, but you guys should COMMENT if you have any bright ideas. I already have an idea where the story will be going in general, but maybe I should do a nuzlocke and tie it into the story that way? As a blueprint of where I'll have Violet and her pokemon friends go on their adventure.**

 **And speaking of comments, I'd like to know if you guys think, if I do use my nuzlocke idea, if Violet should start off in Kanto or Johto. If I should use a Gen I game, or a Gen II game. I already finished FireRed in the summer, but I also want to play with the Silver game I got from the Nintendo store, recently, and I plan on playing that one as a nuzlocke run as well. If I finish the run, that is. If I die then I won't use it for this story, but maybe I'll make up an entirely different nuzlocke tale? I honestly have played through a few nuzlocke runs on my own, but only the FireRed run remains because my old computer got all wanky, which is why I have my new one. Yeah, I lost my files, so that sucks. But yeah. I want Violet to start out with charmander, so at the end of the day I'll probably use that FireRed run, but I also want her to be venturing into Johto, like how in the Gen II games you can go between Kanto and Johto, but you start off in Johto. So… yeah… haven't decided on how I'll go on with this story, but this OC story has been on my mind for a few years, and slowly I've piled on ideas on top of ideas. If I can't use it all in this storyline, then maybe I'll make up an entirely new OC with a new story. I don't know yet, but yeah. Just filling you guys in.**

 **So COMMENT if you want to give me some insight, and ENJOY this chapter!**

! #$%^&*()

You couldn't help but frown at what you were staring at. Everything looked and smelled familiar, but it was so gray and depressing. Stuff that your parents owned, you owned… you're going to miss all this stuff, but there were a few things you needed to find, and you had a feeling your father would think far ahead enough to stash something useful in here, even if it would be weird to have that sort of 'emergency' gear in a facility like this.

You shone your light towards a desk, walking towards it as you peeked behind a bunch of stacked boxes, to find what you were looking for. There, sitting on top of a box, placed into a clear, yet big, container with a lid, was two backpacks. One big, and one small. Emergency traveling gear, kept in this particular facility in case of emergencies. Your father always tried to prepare for anything, even the idea of completely disappearing, in case there was trouble. He showed you this setup before the two of you left the garage, telling you that if you needed the gear, it would be there for you to take.

You reached over the boxes, prying the clear box free as you set it upon the dusty desk, coughing as the dust flew up into the air and almost suffocated you. You pried off the lid, looking between the two bags with a curious gaze. On one hand, you could take your father's bag, for it had the most stuff, but then again it would be very heavy, and you don't have the built to carry such a load. So, reluctantly, you grabbed the much smaller backpack, which was a small-sized trainer backpack, black, gray, and dark blue in design. A backpack marketed by the Pokemon League, no doubt, for it had the pokeball logo on the side of the bag.

You sighed, slumping down onto the hard, cold cement ground as you fished through the bag with your flashlight in hand, seeing what exactly you would be taking with you. The selection was pleasing. You had several clothes, though you doubt you really fit those clothes anymore, or maybe one or two, a sleeping bag, a couple of tarps, rope, and toiletries. There was also dried food that should be able to last for years, and you checked the expiration date to notice the food was good for another decade. Not the best selection of food, but at least you now have some supply food. There was also a canteen, which you'll need to use the moment you find drinkable water, and you quickly fished out the pocket knife, deciding that you need to stash it away, just in case.

You were surprised to notice that the spare clothes were just your size, bought to be oversized, and luckily you needed them when you could use them. You couldn't help but smile at your father's extensive plans, always finding them overbearing, but in emergencies it was all understandable. There wasn't any cash in your bag, but you have no doubt there's extra money in your father's bag, along with a tent and cooking gear, but that stuff will be too heavy for you to carry, and it won't fit into your bag.

So, with a sigh, you fished through the clothes until you grabbed what you felt was best, and quickly changed out of your current clothes into the new, clean, fresh clothes. You wore baggy gray pants, which were warm and comfortable, built for a traveling trainer. You slipped on a light blue tee shirt, but over your shirt you grabbed a black and dark gray trainer jacket, complete with a hoodie, which fit you like a glove. You zipped up the front of the coat, finding it warm as well, and you crumpled up your old, dirty, probably smelly clothes, deciding that it was best to keep the stuff and see if you could salvage any of your old clothes. So, you stuffed the gross clothes into a bag, stuffing that bag into your backpack, where the new clothes had been, sitting on top of the extra clothes that you still have. You thought about changing your socks, but you decided that you could do that later.

You opened up your father's bag and quickly reached for the hidden pocket, fishing out the cash that will be very useful for you. There was exactly 1,000 pokedollars in there, almost all 20's and two 50's. The 50's will be hard to break, but you can certainly use this money to help you get started, if you need it. So, you split the money into two, two thirds going into your bag while a third went into your own pocket, in a pant pocket that was supposed to be water proof and you zipped it up, keeping it extra safe.

Now that everything was accounted for, you decided to take your time as you put your father's backpack away, hiding the extra bag behind the boxes, like you were supposed to. You doubt the backpack will ever be used for its intended use, but you figured you should put it back… just in case. With a tired sigh you continued to look around with the flashlight, wondering what else you should snatch up while you're here. Your eevee sniffed around, as if he was searching for something amongst the piles of buried treasures, but you saw something that caught your eyes, and you carefully unboxed the brown wooden container, glancing inside and frowning at everything you saw.

Old toys and children's books. Items that used to be in your room. Stuffed plushies and little plastic items that you thought was cute.

You sighed sadly, remembering that life you used to have, only less then… what? Two years ago, now? It's certainly been more than a year since your mother passed away. A childhood that quickly came to an end the moment your mum passed away, and suddenly you had to make choices that'll affect you for the rest of your life, and make tons of mistakes along the way. To grow up, long before you should have… but, a child has to grow up at some point, don't they?

However, a particular item caught your eyes, a plastic box with a plastic little lock, which had a key you lost years ago. It was a reason why you learned how to pick locks in the first place, but you knew the lock was beyond repair, and you easily pulled the lock until the hinge unclicked, and you moved the lock out of the way as you sat back down on the ground, your box now on your lap.

It had pictures of the Johto starter pokemon on the front, with the famous Pokemon League logo on the side. Back then, all you wanted to be was a pokemon trainer, to travel the world and conquer gyms, training pokemon as you explored the globe. Jump from region to region, making a name for yourself as a competent trainer. But… your dreams were crushed the moment you saw your mother lying there on the ground… bleeding in the rain… and… you had to make a choice.

To pretend that everything was fine, or leave with your father and hope for the best.

You… left behind your broken dreams in this little box, your tiny little stash of precious treasures that you never wanted to part with, but you did. For the sake of not only letting go, but because you couldn't bring everything with you. And you trusted your father so much, but… but maybe you should completely reevaluate your life. After all, you needed to start all over anyways, but you didn't want to leave everything behind. Plus, you had a limited amount of time, and you couldn't help but feel sad about leaving your old life behind you.

Your precious box held items from your old home. Mainly, rocks that you found to be absolutely stunning and beautiful, that you found in the woods. A precious necklace that you used to see as one among many, but now you cannot help but snatch up that necklace, smiling meekly to yourself as you stared at how stunning and unique it looked. When you were about five, before your life went to complete shit, your father gave you a box filled with jewelry, that apparently your grandfather put in his will, when he died. It had some random evolutionary stones, which meant nothing to you at the time, and jewelry that you had spent your time losing or breaking, just because you'd end up losing it in the middle of the woods as you played, or breaking it against a tree or a rock as you fell down. Or, you'd end up selling it at a pawn shop, trying to get some spending money as you roamed around the big city.

But now that you look at the last pieces of jewelry in your little box, you realized how stupid you were. They had been gifts from a grandfather you never got to meet, and they're more then pieces of jewelry, but family heirlooms and treasures you should have been careful with. You recall your mother yelling at you whenever you misplaced things, which is why she only let you wear plastic, or very inexpensive accessories that could be lost easily and not be worried over. And… your father would just chuckle in amusement, finding the entire problem humorous, before scolding you for breaking or losing another accessory, and stating that he's not buying you another.

That they're one of a kind…

And they truly are, aren't they? Now that you stare into the box with a new set of eyes, you realized just how expensive this jewelry must be. The gold and silver was genuine and not false, and even if it was false silver or gold, they still shone like jewelry that a fancy lady would wear. The stones looked strangely cut, but refined, and the intercut details… It was obvious that someone made these by hand, and here you go breaking and ruining them.

You didn't even get a very high price at the pawn shops you went to, especially if they're made by an artist and not massed produced.

So, reluctantly, you decided that you might as well take the rest of the jewels and treasures, knowing that you won't have another chance to do so, but silently praying that you won't lose a single one of them. The evolutionary stones were long gone, but the jewelry, you realized, had a certain charm to them that made them unique.

Each piece of jewelry held some sort of fragment of an evolutionary stone. They weren't just gemstones, or plastic pieces of beads, but stones from jewels and gems, placed into gold or silver, or surrounded by tiny pieces that made you wonder if they're stones as well or specifically made beads that went perfectly with the pieces of jewelry.

You fished out two necklaces, a pendant without a chain, a pair of earrings, and two bracelets. You quickly placed them into your bag, in a precious pocket that you hope will keep everything safe, except for one necklace, which you took out specifically to wear on your person. It was one of the necklaces that you used to wear all the time, but didn't get ruined or destroyed in your childish games. A necklace you were always fond of, and you honestly wonder why you even left it here. Probably because you didn't want it to break or be stolen… and that you wanted to leave your childish past in the past.

But… you aren't coming back, and you know that now, so it's best to bring it with you… and probably wear it.

But, you also grabbed some stones in your little box, stones that you are rather fond of. You used to have a large array of different stones, found in different places, but you left that collection behind, and only brought a few stones that caught your eyes. But this time… you only wanted to take only one. It was a smooth dark red stone, practically a gemstone, but you honestly had no idea what it was. It was the only stone of its kind you ever came across, in the forest that you had called your home. You wonder if it had fallen in that forest from a different place or if it's truly one of a kind, but you found it rather precious and brought it with you… and now you wanted to bring the stone with you, as a tiny little reminder of those childish days you used to have, when your dreams were endless and the world felt ten times brighter.

After slipping the stone into your bag, you closed your box and locked it, knowing that you probably won't be seeing its contents after again. With a sigh, you stood up and placed it back into the brown box, closing it and leaving it behind, deciding that it was about time to leave.

"Spirit. We should get going," you called out in a quiet tone of voice, your light shining in the darkness as you glanced around, a bit confused. "… Spirit? –"

"Here," you heard the little yelp of your best friend and companion, and with a light smile you walked towards the back of the garage, to a spot that you had never looked at before. The boxes were labeled with your parents' names, their old belongings that they took out of the house before everything went wrong, with dates long before your time. You noticed your eevee was glancing up at you before nudging his head against a particular box, and you knelt down, looking at the box with new intrigue.

"… Trainer Days," you decided to say aloud, knowing that Spirit couldn't read the box, but could sniff something inside of it, which only made you curious. "… Is there food in here or something?"

"No. Just… the smell is strongly familiar, and I think there's stuff in there that could fit you," he stated, as if he was a psychic-type and could see right into the box. You rolled your eyes at him, knowing that there was probably something other than clothes that he smells, but you decided to indulge in his curiosity, and yours as well, and you took out the box, prying it to a spot that was a bit more accessible, before opening the top of the box and looking inside.

Your eyes widened at what you uncovered. It was your father's old belongings, when he was just a kid… like you. You could tell, by the red and black trainer jacket that was the first thing you have seen from old family photos, and a pair of small worn out black gloves that would have no longer fitted him. Your eyes quickly noticed a curious hat, a cap that had barely been worn, but was still kept… by your father, for some reason.

You scooped up the black paperboy style hat, an old style trainer cap, before everything became rather regulated and similar after the Pokemon League became more self-promoting. Now a days, the basic 'Pokemon Trainer' ensemble reflects the style of the famous Pokemon Trainer Red, a Pokemon Master and world-renowned Champion. Sure, he only officially earned one Champion title, the title of Kanto Champion, but he had spent his days battling other champions, and usually he'd come out on top.

But one day he disappeared… and was never seen again, but his most precious friends and family concluded that he had died in the wilderness, in a desperate journey for solitude and inner peace.

Most know the great Pokemon Master, one of the youngest of his days, as the best of the best, but you learned who he was from your father, from your aunts and uncles that would occasionally bring up the man, after his death. His rivals were distort over his disappearance, sometimes wondering if he will suddenly pop up and reveal himself, one of these days, and always hearing for rumors of his whereabouts, but your Auntie Yellow was one of the most distort by his disappearance… or rather death. She concludes he died, for his little charged pikachu, Pika, showed up one day, all sad and silent, with Trainer Red's cap and a message… that he was dead.

His other pokemon had disappeared into the wilderness, to live out their own lives, and Pika had returned to Viridian Forest, where the little yellow mouse had grown up, and had begun to start a life with his little pikachu love.

But apparently, when you had first shown up to that forest, born in her little cottage and Yellow acting as a midwife, she realized that maybe it was all fate… and when Pika came to you, looking ecstatic and happy to see you, she began to move on from her loss of a man she had secretly loved, and yes you figured that out after all of the visits you've had at her house.

Auntie Blue, Prof. Oak, and Auntie Yellow were the closest to the famous Trainer Red, and while your father wasn't that close to the man, you know that he also felt unsettled when the strongest trainer alive had disappeared, without warning, without any reason or explanation.

But either way, you never thought that your father wore hats like this, back then. You've seen pictures of your father when he was a young trainer, a few pictures Auntie Blue had taken of the two of them when they were surviving on the streets together, and there was still no black paperboy style cap.

And then… you realized… he may have used it as a way to hide his bright red hair, whenever he was walking around. After all, his coat didn't have a hood on it, and he can be easily spotted by his red hair.

So, a bit reluctantly, but a bit too excitedly, you placed the hat on top of your head, noticing it fit your head perfectly. It must be a small hat, a hat that'll outgrow your head in no time, but it was a perfect hat to wear… and a bit stylish as well. "You mean this?" you glanced down at the furry pokemon with a curious look on your face, and he nodded his head lightly at you.

"Looks good. Wearing a hood all of the time is suspicious behavior," your eevee reasoned, and you sighed, but you did understand his reasoning.

Maybe he's going to evolve into an espeon, you reasoned, but you couldn't help but feel a bit glad that you found something of your father's to wear and bring with you… but your mother… you didn't exactly have much to grab that belonged to her… but that's just fine.

She taught you everything you knew, all the good aspects you probably have. How to be kind, to be polite, to respect your elders, and be attentive. To never doubt yourself. To always stand strong, no matter how scary thing became. She was your role model… and that's enough for you. Plus, apparently, you share a lot more features of your mum then you do your daddy, so there's that as well.

"Alright Spirit. We should head out of here," you told him with a light smile, but you stuffed your new hat into your bag, deciding that it was best to keep your hood on your head, for now, until you truly distant yourself from the current horrors and fears you face. Right now, you just had to get out of here, and while you could spend all your time scrounging through your old things, recalling memories that you would push away from your mind just to stay sane, you realized that you had to leave it behind before you began to break down and cry over the losses in your short little life.

And besides, by now Don is probably wondering what has happened, and you need to come up with your next plan of action.

So, you glanced at your new necklace with a fond look on your face, quickly clipping the silver clip behind your neck, before placing it against your chest and zipping your jacket's zipper up to your neck. You flipped up your hood, placing it upon your head, before you grabbed your backpack and placed it securely upon your back. You motioned Spirit to follow you, which he loyally did, and as you turned off the light, placing it back in its former spot, and carefully pushed open the garage door, you couldn't help but look back at the old boxes that were in the storage space, and feel disheartened that you have to leave the rest of it behind.

But… you need to move on from this, and survive. You need to survive, if you can ever hope for some sort of future, and now isn't the time to wish that things could be different. Right now, you need to start acting, and the next course of action is to get as far away from this region as physically possible.


	9. CH08: Shipping Selection

You did your best, sneaking around the city, gathering the supplies that you needed. First, you bought basic supplies, including pokeballs, though you had to go through a shady dealer to get them, at a much higher price. Pokeballs are only sold to Pokemon Trainers with IDs, or adults that are eighteen. So, like anything else, you had to buy that precious item through the black market, and hope that the pokeballs will actually work. To you, they seemed to be worth the price, cause now you could walk around with Spirit, without fearing that his mere presence will be enough for others to catch sight of you.

So, with a pokeball in your pant pocket, you continued on your way, with Don and his murkrow flying around the city, keeping an eye on you as you went about your human business. After buying some shady items from an alley dealer, you made your way to a drug store, buying items like food and drinks, things that you figured would be satisfying to eat. You decided that it's probably not best to stay in one spot for too long, so you'll just eat as you go. You also bought a packet of stationary, envelopes, and a bundle of pens. After paying for your items you found a nice spot to settle down in, a park that led up to Olivine's famous Lighthouse, and you found a secluded spot behind the lighthouse, using the time to be alone with your thoughts.

You were tired. You've barely slept, and maybe you're making sloppy decisions, but… you didn't feel as if you were being watched, well, except by Don and the murkrow, and you felt a relative ease, for the first time in days… weeks, but you know one little slipup could cost you your life, and you have no doubt that you're, at the very least, being tracked somehow.

You needed to disappear, completely. You needed to start an entirely different life.

And… is Team Rocket even an option?

You think not. You'll just bring that trouble to the gang, and you don't want to cause unnecessary trouble to anyone. It's like if you brought these troubles to your friends and family. Even if you decided to join a street gang, eventually your fears will catch up to you, and you would end up killed… or worse.

Honestly, you think there is more to this then what you're seeing, but you don't know much. Your father had been so quiet about what he does for a living, and your mother didn't even know who her killer was.

She was just… protecting you… from something… and that something is what scares you the most.

You've heard the stories of both your father and your aunt being kidnapped from their families, forced into training as assassins, spies. It wasn't clear why your aunt was kidnapped in the first place, even now she doesn't know, and no longer cares, but your father… apparently there's something in your blood. You were born, and because you were born from his family bloodline, you're a target.

A target for what? By whom? Who wants a little girl anyways?

You wondered if you'd end up kidnapped instead of killed, but honestly… you'd rather die now then live a torturous life anyways, an existence where you cannot make your own choices. The thought of not making your own choices and losing your freedom was horrifying. Sure, it's different if you agree to compensate your freedom for safety or security, but that doesn't mean you want that choice to be taken away from you.

But… could you kill yourself to get rid of that threat in the first place?

… No. No, you don't think you can do it. You don't want to die by your own hands. It doesn't sound very great at all, and besides, there's always a chance to get out of this situation. You just have to hold onto that hope, that hope that seems to dwindle whenever you think about your very gloomy and solitude-based fate.

As for now, you sat eating your recently bought lunch, feeding some of the murkrow that have congregated around you with pieces of ripped up bread, while giving Don and Spirit something to eat as well. Spirit insisted that you ate, but after you were done, you took out the stationary you had recently bought, and began to write. As you wrote, Don suggested that he could have some of his murkrow send the letters for you, but you kindly told him that it wouldn't matter, and you'll do that later, when you're far, far away from here.

First, you wrote up a letter for Professor Oak, or rather Professor Green Oak, son of the great Professor Samuel Oak. He insists that you call him professor, or mister, all of the time, rarely using his first name, ever, but you figured that he'd be the best person to send out the information that your father had passed away. That he was no longer on this earth, but more importantly, that you're running away, and to not go looking for you, ever.

Though, if you stated it'd be for his own safety, he'd chase after you anyways, and you cannot afford to have him running after you and blowing your cover.

And then, you wrote a letter to one of your favorite aunts, Auntie Yellow. She taught you everything you know about communicating with pokemon and understanding them. You would spend days at her little cottage in the middle of Viridian Forest, enjoying the wild pokemon and nature around you. You envied her, her strength and knowledge in all things pokemon. Yet, she acted like some distant hermit, some old crone children naturally shy away from because she's a bit creepy. But in actuality, she's a very nice person, and would never hurt a fly. You learned with your time spent with her that you hold the same strange abilities as she, and that those abilities come to children who are born in that Viridian Forest, but only once every six to ten years. Some hold great strength, while others hold very little, but it always depends, and they all can understand and listen to the voices of pokemon.

It's apparently a tradition for those who live in Viridian City, if they are expecting, to have their children in Viridian Forest. There's even two old buildings in that forest that were built just for expectant mothers, will all the facilities that you would find in a human center. In fact, one of Yellow's jobs is to be a midwife, but only if those expectant mothers seek her out. It's a bit odd for you, to learn of that information, but apparently it's a tradition for your family to do that… even though your father never grew up in Viridian, and neither did you.

Anyways… you decided to be a bit honest with her, even if there's the fear that your letter will be found, and even if you won't disclose everything, you will send the detailed information through carrier murkrow, considering almost every pokemon has at least heard of the strange human called Yellow de Viridian Grove. So… you wrote that your father passed away, but also in which town and which route it was on. You wrote that it wasn't an accident, no matter what the cops may say… if it's properly filed at all. It was on purpose, and who? Even you don't know, but you're scared of who it could be. You fear for your life, so you're disappearing completely, hoping that they'll stop following you, at the very least.

And… that you don't want them to worry. That you'll figure things out, and if everything settles down you'll send her more information, but, just for now, you cannot afford to be sloppy and pretend that there isn't some threat on your life. First it was your mum, then your daddy, and now it'll be you, next. You just hope that she'll be doing fine, and even if you're not in the picture, perhaps attempting to figure out what happened to him. Happened to your father.

A corpse was never found, and maybe some wild pokemon came across him already. He's probably dead, considering the fall, but at the very least you hope that he's buried next to your mother. That's all he would have really wanted.

Though, you left out the fact that he wouldn't want you to be so reckless and stupid, and probably find safely with his friends, but you just don't want to cause them unnecessary trouble.

Professor Oak has a son, apparently, who's around your age, but not quite the same age, you think. Auntie Yellow is too sweet to be thrown into this mess, and if she dies because of you… you wouldn't be able to bear it. And Auntie Blue is somewhere far away, and you don't want to break whatever peaceful life she has. And everyone else?... You don't want to be a bother either, so you'd rather do this all on your own then rely on anyone else.

But you are relying on your pokemon, on Spirit and Don. Just… not people, cause anyone could be behind this… even your father's friends… though you hope that's not the case. You don't think Prof. Oak would have it in him to pay for an assassination attempt, and after all, Uncle Green was the guy who taught your father how to get over his… anger towards his father, apparently. And Auntie Yellow wouldn't even hurt a little caterpie, so you doubt she's to blame. If anyone would send out the word that your father is dead, and possibly fill in the details that you certainly don't know about, then they could. Plus, you bet that Yellow speaks with Green all of the time, especially when he's in Viridian City.

Though… the Viridian Gym leaders seem to cycle through every so often. The title of Gym Leader is reserved for pokemon trainers that can handle themselves against beginner trainers, the last gym until one takes Victory Road to the Indigo Pokemon League. Maybe it's not the best idea to send a letter to your uncle and aunt, but you might as well. Pallet Town is a fairly quiet town, and maybe you'll send Auntie Yellow's letter to Pewter City, since she does go to the city from time to time to get mail, as well.

Yeah… that's what you'll do… and you quickly labeled the envelopes, leaving no return address, and you made a plan to buy a few stamps from the post office before throwing your letters into the box, hoping that they'll be sent, and that nothing happens to them.

The letters may be looked over, and if they are, then you're in trouble, but by that time you'll be boarding a ship heading… somewhere.

Where? You don't know, but maybe you have enough money to be legitimate and buy a ticket? Or you could save your money and skip buying the ticket, and look for the best possible opportunity you can find?

Meh. You'll see when you get to the port, but for now you still have some time until it gets dark, and maybe you should buy some more previsions, just in case.

! #$%^&*()

So far, you had no real fears, but you weren't going to start being lazy with your tactics. You had enough money to buy more food, figuring that you'll need it if you're going to confine yourself to a box or a cargo hold for months on end. Maybe you can get lucky and end up amongst dry foods? Either way, after shoving your letters into a mailbox at the post office, you began to buy some new belongings.

You bought some small black gloves, perfect for your hands, and no longer ripped up and unusable. You personally prefer fingerless gloves, but having full fingered gloves like the ones you just bought are perfect, if you don't want to get your fingerprints all over everything. Who knows if the police are looking for you? Or those horrible men. Anyone would be looking for some reason to come after you, so you figured gloves were a good investment, even if you're practically out of money, now.

So, you cannot buy your own ticket, which means you are now stalking the harbor, looking at the ships that seem to be leaving tonight, and not in the morning, or in a few days. You cannot afford to stay here any longer.

But the murkrow showed you the way. They are certainly acting like your eyes and ears, like Don always does, did, with your father. It's not like pokemon are really stupid. Maybe there are exceptions, like with humans, but for the most part they are fairly intelligent. They pointed out about five boats that were leaving, tonight, and you walked down the harbor, hoping to overhear where each boat was heading to.

The S.S. Spiral was a cruiser on its way to Snowpoint City, in Sinnoh. It had stopped in Olivine to gather supplies and various material to bring to Sinnoh, and seem to be leaving tonight, or at least in the very early morning. It sounded like an option, but Snowpoint, while a very cold city, is a tourist attraction if you were to make your way to Sinnoh. And Sinnoh sounds very cold, and you honestly don't want to live somewhere cold, right now.

Then, there was the Seastop Ferries, the 1st Seastop starting here, in Olivine. The ferry would be taking you to the large island region of Hoenn, but it sounds like you'd end up in Mossdeep City, meaning you won't be on the main land of the region. Meaning, you'd have to jump onto another boat, and if you're followed… you won't be able to escape the island easily and hide away in the wilderness. So that doesn't sound like a great option, even if going to Hoenn sounds like a fairly nice trip.

And the S.S. Aqua would be a very stupid choice. It's a cargo ship, though it also serves as a passenger liner on the upper deck, but it's heading to Vermilion City, in Kanto, which is much too close to Johto. It'd be like you hadn't left at all, and you could have easily just crossed over the mountains into Kanto instead of coming up with this outrageous plan. So… no. You're certainly not going onto that ship.

And lastly, there is the S.S. Cruzer, a fairly decent size cargo ship, making its way east across the ocean. It's an island hoping ship, and it'll be stopping at a lot of port cities, on its way to the western regions.

And the very last ship, you couldn't really hear what it was all about, so you figured it wasn't important enough to catch your attention.

Honestly, the S.S. Cruzer seems like the best deal. You won't have to brave the cold in Sinnoh, or be stuck in Hoenn, or just be too close to Johto, for your liking, even if it would be nice to head to Kanto. Being given the choice of a handful of islands in the middle of the eastern ocean would be great. You could pick some fairly unnoticed small island, maybe one highly populated with wild pokemon, or just a place that doesn't have a strong oversight from the Pokemon League.

Yeah… that's your best option, but now the real question is how will you board the ship?

The S.S. Cruzer is crawling with strong machamp and sailors, already hauling cargo onto the ship. It's going to be hard to sneak into one of the boxes, and what if you get noticed? While the ship is the best option, it's also the closest to setting sail, meaning you don't have a lot of time.

So… you decided to go for it, even if you may get thrown off of the ship before it even leaves the port.

It was at that time that you silently motioned for Don to come over, sending him into one of the three iffy pokeballs you had bought. The last empty pokeball looks the most broken, so you decided to not use it… yet, since you don't really need to, yet. You don't doubt that the murkrow will start cawing at you if there is trouble, even if their honchkrow isn't around to organize the flock, so you made your way to the board walk, staying in the shadows and hoping no one notices your shady behavior.

But… before you could even reach Dock #7, you were suddenly shoved to the ground, and you yelped as you fell to your hands and felt that your right hand was in pain.

"Ah. Shit! Kid, are you okay?" a fairly young man asked, quickly helping you off of the ground, but as you turned to glare up at the man, your left hand gripping your hurt hand, your eyes slowly widened.

"… M-marko?"

"Violet!?" he exclaimed, shocked, that is, until he felt his shoulder being shoved by someone else from behind.

"Get a move on!" a black clothed figure shouted, and that's when you realized, with a horrified look, that he was wearing a black outfit as well, with a bright crimson red colored letter on his shirt, which you never thought you'd see on such a friend, at all.

"Violet, I would love to talk, but right now I'm being chased," he told you, already turning to leave, but when he realized you were running after him, he had to stop, if only for a second. "Kid, back off!"

"N-no! Besides, you owe me. You broke my hand!" you called back at him in a snippy fashion, and while it was only an excuse to follow a boy that you know, you also felt the need to follow him, just to figure out what the hell is going on, with him.

You didn't think he was a bad guy so… why would your Goldenrod old friend join the infamous Team Rocket?

"… Hurry up," he told you, in a less aggressive tone, and once he realized you were having a hard time catching up to him, he snatched you up, holding you underneath his arm like a sack of grain, and rushed forward. "You better tell me what you're doing here once we escape these coppers."

"You need to explain yourself too, Marko," you talked back in a stubborn tone of voice, but honestly, the two of you couldn't help the slight smiles upon your faces.

You just ran into a very old friend of yours, a guy you never thought you'd see again, but… this only creates more complications, and you certainly don't want to get him involved in any of this, that's for sure. But… being able to, at the very least, talk about what's happened with another human being may help you clear your head, and set you on the next course of action.

You shouldn't be following him, but then again you don't care, because for the first time in a long while, you have a friend you know you can count on. Though thick and thin… even if it's going to be a long, agonizing conversation.

)(*&^%$# !

 **Hey guys! So I decided to post another chapter, before I forget. I would have loved to has post this yesterday, but I was feeling rather crummy when I came back home, and I decided that I'd do it today. I'm getting close to finishing this story completely. It's getting close to… 20 chapters? But this is the first part in a 2 or 3 part story. I'll change how I label everything later, but for now… yeah. I'm getting close to finishing this particular part of the story, but when it comes to posting I'm only, about, half way done. I don't want to post everything at once, which is why I'm only posting every day or so later. It depends if I'm working on this story or not. I'm doing that so there's always some sort of content to read.**

 **So… yeah… I hope you guys ENJOYED this chapter, but now we run into an old friend. Who is he? We'll have to find out later.**


	10. CH09: Hidden Warehouse

"Frank, who is this kid? You're compromising our mission right now," a huffy woman snorted in annoyance as she stood in your way, your hand clutching at your hood to keep your hair out of her focus while your other hand was in your pocket, where your honchkrow was currently waiting to be set free, and would probably start pecking at the tall adult if she got any closer to you.

"Sorry Mrs. Lina, but this is a kid friend of mine. I'll send her off, but I need to talk to her, for a sec. I promise to you she won't be any trouble."

"Hmm… Well," she glared down at you, probably not liking the idea of bringing a kid on a very top-secret mission, but then again this could be the perfect opportunity to have a new recruit, and she is aware of the grunt's old background. So maybe this is another potential new young recruit into the team's ranks, "I will let you do this, but only this one time, and she better be gone in less than an hour. We all need to board the ship before the police arrive. I have no doubt they're on to us."

"Yes ma'am," your friend smiled happily, a bit deviously, but he kept a tight grip on your hand as he pulled you into the inner hideout of Team Rocket, your eyes unable to stop glancing around, curiously, at everything that you saw.

It was obvious that this wasn't a big ass base for Team Rocket. It was hidden in a storage facility where crates would be stored after ships undock at the port. You saw random crates all over the place, holding… well, whatever, but what truly caught your attention was the multitude of cages filled with small pokemon, all looking horribly miserable, some crying out for help and others accepting their fates in silent, smoldering dread and rage.

Back then, before you lost your mum, you would have instantly ran to those cages and try to free every pokemon cage you came across, but now a days… after seeing so much with your daddy, you know just how cruel the world can be, and if you don't want to be thrown back out onto the streets, you need to keep your mouth shut and ignore the cruelty around you. Yeah, sure, it was difficult, but you wouldn't even be here if you hadn't run into Marko, and you want to talk to him as quickly as possible.

So, it didn't take him long to find a quieter spot, far away from the movement all around you, as grunts continued to move boxes and crates around, and several sending the frightened pokemon into pokeballs, pokeballs designed to capture pokemon that have already been captured by legitimate registered pokeballs. You noticed that he seemed to try to shield you from the chaos by putting his larger frame in front of the people walking about, as you two hid behind crates, as if you were cornered at the end of a hedge maze, but you know Marko wouldn't do something shady… you hope, but you could tell he was worried as well as serious, as he glared at you with his dark golden pair of eyes, as if he was staring right into your very soul.

"Look, Violet, we don't have much time. So let's get to the point. Where's your dad? I thought you went off with him months ago –"

"Dead," you practically spat out, glaring back up at him since he was glaring down at you, your arms crossing over your chest as your arms tugged at the straps of your backpack a bit too uncomfortably. "He's dead, Marko, 'kay?"

"W-wah?... When? I never thought such a guy could die so easily," he decided to ask, but noticing the distort look in your angry eyes, he quickly put up his hands, "b-but if you don't want to talk about it, that's cool. I get that."

"… I think… h-he angered some people, and they sent assassins to kill him… and maybe me, too," you responded in a meek tone of voice, unable to hold your composure as you began to stare at your shoes, and notice just how gross and muddy your small hiking shoes actually are. "… I'm scared, Marko. If I end up dead somewhere, I-I just hope someone figures out who that dead kid is."

"Holy shit, Vi, don't be so depressing," he chuckled nervously, though his nervousness stems from the fact that he wasn't sure how to handle this, and he quickly knelt down onto one knee, putting both of his hands onto your shoulders as he hoped you'd look up at him. "That… that really sucks."

"Yeah. Sucks," you pouted, but you slowly looked up at him and gave him a light smile, though that smile didn't shine in your sad and suddenly teary eyes. "L-look I… should get going –"

"Kid, if someone is after you, we need to put an end to this. Didn't you call the police? –"

"That's the problem, Marko! They're part of the problem!" you suddenly shouted, but you quickly put a hand over your mouth to stop yourself from shouting, and you let out deep, yet shivery breaths, hoping no one overheard your outburst as you slowly let your mouth go, and you stared up at him with the sternest look your face could muster. "Dad… d-daddy he… he did stuff you probably think is inappropriate for a kid to know about."

"Probably so," he huffed sternly, but he sighed, shaking his head, realizing he should stay as calm and kind as possible to get as much information as he can from you. "But… he's your dad. It's hard to get over that."

"Y-yeah…"

"… Will you tell me what happened?" he asked in a soft tone of voice, and you stared up slightly at him, your eyes filled with tears, but you turned, moving your hand to wipe stray tears away, and you chuckled, deeply, hoping that was enough to rid yourself of the uneasiness you felt, deep in your gut.

"Well… He, ah… Let's just say he angered some very high ranking people, and I don't know why, but the next thing I know we were running for our lives. I have this feeling they're the same people responsible for mum's death, t-to be completely honest, and… they… h-he was…" you closed your eyes deeply, letting in a deep, tired breath. You wanted to cry, to scream, but… you just felt exhausted, if you're going to be honest.

And you know Marko is just trying to be a nice guy. After all, he has a way of pulling information out of snotty kids. So you might as well tell him the truth, even if it means you're only letting your anger and fears out into the open.

"… His pokemon were slashed and cut up, practically dead, and he was thrown off of a high cliff. I-if I hadn't been told to start climbing down I-I would have been… M-marko he's not coming back!" you finally blurted out, tears streaming down your face as you began to sob. You couldn't contain your sadness anymore as you cried into your hand, your other hand over your mouth as you tried to keep your loud outburst from being too loud.

But, you flinched as you felt a pair of arms wrapping around you, pulling you into a strangely firm chest, and you could hear Marko's familiar cooing sounds against your ear as he pushed your head into his chest. "Hey… it's alright… If you want, I'll keep you safe."

"N-no… N-noo," you sniffled, your stubbornness shining through, and you could hear him chuckle lowly underneath his breath, before he shook his head and held you a little tighter.

"I'm not leaving you behind, kid. You know that's just not my style… but I get it. You need to flee, and if you need me to, I'll figure out a way for you to completely disappear, 'kay? Just… don't think that you're alone, Vi. You're not alone. You have me now."

"If… you say so," you mumbled against his chest, a few sniffles leaving your breath as you closed your eyes and let out deep, shaky breaths.

You hated this feeling, of being utterly useless. You felt like some hopeless damsel in distress, and you hate it. You absolutely hate it.

But… what are you expecting, letting Marko drag you here, out of the blue, and agreeing to it completely? You're an idiot… but you don't care. That's what happens when you don't have to time to think things through. You just act on instincts, and you wish you could be a bit smarter, a bit more knowledgeable… and less helpless.

And besides… you shouldn't rely on Marko anyways. You don't want him to be the next person you know that dies right in front of you. You don't think you can handle seeing another person that you know die, right now.

Not… now.

! #$%^&*()

" _Are you sure about staying here, hatchling –"_

"No. N-no… I'm not sure, but I will," you responded to the honchkrow that was currently perched on your shoulder, your eyes meekly looking around while Don's keen eyes were searching around, looking for any possible reason to leave as quickly as you can in. "… If dad saw me now, he'd freak out."

Noticing the weak and tired smile that finally appeared on your dirty face, the honchkrow cracked his own little smile, deciding to himself that now wasn't the time to upset you. _"The master would probably give us a lengthy lecture,"_ you heard Don grumbling underneath his breath at the very thought, and he smirked proudly to himself when he managed to cause a slight chuckle to leave your breath. _"… What's the plan?"_

"A-ah… get on a ship and get as far away from port as possible," you stated underneath your breath, careful to make sure no one was overhearing your strange conversation between the intimidating honchkrow on your shoulder, which looked like he could easily pick you up and gobble you up, if he really wanted to. "… Use the Rockets as a diversion, if necessary."

" _Good idea, but we have no water pokemon on our side. Perhaps… we should try to borrow one?"_ you heard Don suggest, his eyes glancing over at the crates filled with bags, filled with stolen pokemon balls, and while the idea was tempting, you couldn't help but pout at the idea.

" _We'd be thieves stealing from thieves_. I don't like that idea," you decided to tell him, shaking your head. "W-we'll, ah… figure it out if we need to, but it shouldn't be too hard to –"

"Sorry to keep you waiting," you heard Marko say with a kind smile upon his face, handing you the clothing in his hands, which you quickly accepted, looking up at him with expectation on your face. "If we can sneak you onboard our cargo ship, then you'll **have** to come with us to the next port town, and by then, hopefully, we can come up with a better plan then just… running away."

"I-I… thank you for what you're willing to do, but I don't want you to –"

"Get into trouble? Don't worry about it," he smirked deviously, causing you to quickly shake your head.

"N-no. I mean –"

"I think it's a bit odd that my supervisor didn't bat an eyelid when you showed up, but hey, if we can write you off as a newb then we'll be off scot free –"

"Shut up!" you suddenly yelled, glaring up at him and causing the man to look at you with wide eyes, but quickly you regretted your little outburst and sighed deeply, shaking your head and carefully setting the clothing down on a single crate, your backpack falling to the ground behind you as you shrugged it off. "… Marko, I'm not talking about getting into trouble with your superiors. I mean, I don't want you dead. I don't want to see anyone else die because of me."

"Vi, look, I bet –"

"I'm serious," you pouted, glancing up at him with glaring and serious eyes. "My parents' deaths aren't accidents. I want you to promise me something, if I'm going to go along with this plan of yours."

"What kid? –"

"If… if something bad happens, ah… if someone shows up, wanting my death, I don't want you to stop it, at all," you decided to say, your eyes watching as his usually chipper demeanor suddenly turned sour, but you continued sternly, "Why? Because you'll die, that's what, and I don't want to see more people die because of me, okay? I-I'm scared, but… I think I can come to terms with my own death, you know?"

"… No Vi, I don't know, but if this is what it takes to keep you from doing something stupid and sticking around, then I'll agree to that," you heard Marko say, but he flinched as you suddenly held out your hand to him.

"Pinky swear me," you glared at him, knowing that he couldn't go back on a pinky swear.

You watched his hesitation, and you could tell Don was glaring at the boy, finding him to be a complete wimp, but you kept silent and stationary until he sighed deeply, holding out his dark gray gloved hand, and twisting his pinky around your own. "Fine," he stated, shaking your hand just slightly, "I swear I won't interfere if worse comes to worse, but with that in mind, follow my orders to the letter. Got it?"

"Got it," you smiled meekly in response, letting go of his hand and quickly shrugging off your coat, Don flapping off of your shoulder due to the sudden movement, and landing upon the crate that held the Rocket grunt uniform upon it. "Ah… privacy, please," you asked meekly, and the man smirked as he turned around, walking forward to stand in front of anyone's view of you as you quickly changed.

You threw your clothes onto your bag, reaching over to slip on the grunt uniform. You slipped on the long black pants, figuring that Marko could only snatch up the male uniform without being noticed, but then again you're still a little girl, so if you look and act like a boy then perhaps no one will think you're a girl. You had to roll up the ends of the pant legs a bit, just so you could walk around, but you kept your hiking boots on, not daring to part with them, yet, just in case. Then your eyes fell upon the black shirt Don was holding up with his beak, the large crimson red 'R' in your sights, causing you to pout at the thought.

Are you really joining Team Rocket? Probably not, but… you never thought in your lifetime that you'd end up here, in a worldwide organized gang like this, wearing their outfit and parading around as if you're one of them. You felt a bit sick to your stomach, but hey, if you weren't prepared to push the boundaries of what you're willing to do, and what you absolutely won't do, then you might as well die right then and there.

So, a tad reluctantly, you slipped the Rocket shirt over your tank top shirt, your hands quickly tying your hair back with a hair tie, first slipping it into a ponytail, and then up into a messy looking bun. It didn't matter if it was messy or not, for you tucked your colorful hair underneath the black cap that was provided, pushing the hat down as far as it could go so your features would be obscured, and you quickly shoved your clothes into your bag, before letting Don jump onto your shoulder, and you rushed over to Marko, nudging him with your elbow. "I'm done."

"Good," he stated in a casual manner, his hand snatching up your backpack, as his eyes continued to look around in a bored way. "We'll get going. I'll get your stuff to my hammock on board, and we'll lay low until it ships off."

"O-okay," you responded, though you honestly saw a lot of flaws to his plan. Still, it was better than anything you could come up with on your own, so you reluctantly followed the older boy, sending your father's honchkrow back to his pokeball and tucking the ball back into your pant pockets, one of your hands always in your pocket, just in case you needed to snatch up either Spirit or Don's pokeball if trouble were to suddenly show up.

)(*&^%$# !

 **Hey guys! So I would have posted this chapter sooner, but I kept getting sidetracked. Maybe I'll post another chapter tonight, or tomorrow or something, but yeah. I'm getting close to finishing this story, writing it I mean, but I like to quickly proof read my work in case I wrote something in the beginning, but forgot about it later. Details and such. But I don't look very carefully so if there are problems then, yeah, sorry about that.**

 **So now we're introduced to a bunch of new OCs, random Rocket grunts and such. If you have any suggestions for names or characters, you can go ahead and tell me cause right now I'm making up a bunch of them. Marko is an OC I had in mind to have in the story for a while, but that Lina isn't. She's just a character I made up on the fly. So… yeah. Any SUGGESTIONS or COMMENTS I'd be glad to receive them, and I'll tell you if I think I can add that OC into the story or not. Don't expect a big role or anything, but hey this story is still in progress, and making up random OCs is difficult. They'll start becoming generic if I don't have other ideas, but so far, yeah. And if those OCs don't show up in this part, they may show up later in the story overall. I'm currently writing CH14, so there you go. Team Rocket is becoming a vital part of the story overall, and if you have any Rocket OCs then you can go right ahead and suggest them.**

 **And I honestly wouldn't be surprised if you guys know where the story is going. I know my Violet is a bit generic, but I tried to play her off as a shy, scared child who cut herself off from the rest of the world, in order to survive. It's a story of her growth and development, into becoming a strong and independent character, while still trying to keep her morals. How she'll do that in Team Rocket? Anyone's guess XD. Honestly, I would have written this story later, and have a more MAIN story with Violet, perhaps starting her pokemon journey for the first time, but I had inspiration to write this story a few months back, and since I've written so much of it I figured I'll post this, first. Maybe I'll have a story of her as a little grunt, like a 'Training Daze' arc, but this is all in the works right now, and I can only handle so much. But there you go! And I hope you guys are ENJOYING the story so far.**


	11. CH10: The Rocket Ship

You found it a bit too easy to sneak into the ship the Rockets were apparently using as a getaway vessel, or rather you thought it was way too easy, until after you left your bag, alone, in the corner where Marko's bunk bed was placed on the third lower level of the ship, and the two of you ran right into a familiar, angry looking woman. "Hey. Frank. I thought I told you to leave that girl behind."

"But Mrs. Lina, look –"

"No butts, Frank. Kid, get out of here," the woman glared down at you, and you slowly glanced upward to notice the irritated look upon her face, and the angry look appearing on Marko's face.

Should you leave? Should you go? Should you even butt into the conversation?

But before you could utter a sound, you suddenly flinched in utter shock as two familiar fellows showed up, saving you from having to make a word. "Y'oh, kid! You decided to show up, huh?"

"The outfit suits you," the slimmer agent stated with a sly smirk, and you frowned as you glanced at the two familiar Rockets, while you noticed that Marko was suddenly standing in front of you, blocking you from their view.

"Agent Jerry and Fred. How do you know the kid? –"

"Lina, I get that you're trying to do your job here, but so are we," Jerry decided to say, butting in for his partner in crime as he turned to you, smiling a bit too sweetly for your tastes. "… Because of you, now we both have kidnapping charges."

"Not my fault you couldn't leave jail in time," you smirked a tad slyly, stepping backward, but away from Marko's side as you glared up at the much taller fellow, using Marko as a shield, just in case there was trouble. "I gave you my tools. In fact, you owe me."

"Hey! Before I could even wake up, I was suddenly being shoved to the ground by a bunch of guards! Not my fault you didn't clue us in on your escape plan," Fred huffed in annoyance, but your crude grin only grew.

"Not my fault you sleep like a log, and besides, why should I care anyways? How did you guys even escape if you were arrested again? –"

"Boss paid for bail because we had necessary information," Jerry stated simply, glancing to the irritated woman, who couldn't get a word in as the three of you bickered between yourselves about events that happened a while ago. "Lina, I'll take care of the kid from now on. It was my job to find her anyways."

"Find her?" Marko growled, his hand moving to the side, in front of you, as if it'd serve as some sort of barrier between his elders and you. "What do you mean by that? –"

"Frank, is it?" Fred suddenly spoke up, in a much more serious tone then you were used to hearing from that overly excited, and stupid, guy's mouth. "You know the kid? Come with us for a moment."

"And let me tell you that we don't plan on harming her. On the contrary, really –"

"If you just think I'll give up a friend of mine then –"

"Stop," you spoke up, tugging on Marko's sleeve as you stared down at the taller and older people's shoes, unable to look them all in the eyes. "Just… don't get in trouble for me, 'kay?"

Marko sighed deeply in response, but nodded his head to you before glaring back at his superiors. "I'm not leaving the girl's side."

"Frank, I need you for our mission –"

"Not to be rude, ma'am, but the mission is almost over. All I'm needed for is to carry cargo onto the ship, and if you want to dock my pay then that's fine. I don't care," Marko spoke sternly, glaring at the woman, while he had his hand on your shirt, as if he knew that you'd do anything possible to get as far away from this confusing situation as humanly possible. "… I'm sorry, but my friends come first."

"… Fine," the woman sneered, glaring down at you and at the boys before stepping away, "but I'm writing this incident in my report," she roughly growled underneath her breath, quickly walking away so everything she has worked for won't go down in flames.

"Fine by us," Fred smirked deviously, before turning his gaze back down to you. "Look, I know you don't want to trust anyone, but if you can trust your friend here perhaps you can trust us?"

You glanced between the two agents, your hand gripping Marko's hand as he stood, patiently waiting for your response. "… What else can I lose?" you grumbled underneath your breath, but Marko frowned at your words.

"A lot, actually," Marko decided to remind you, "and honestly, I don't trust you two, even if you're field agents," he continued, glaring at the two agents as Jerry shrugged his shoulders.

"Doesn't matter if you trust us or not, grunt. If you're a member of Team Rocket, then you'd better follow orders… Now, you two, come with us," Jerry sternly ordered, and you noticed that while Jerry began to walk down the hallway, Fred was waiting for the two of you to follow.

You could hear Marko let out an uneasy sigh, but you nudged his side to get him to move, knowing that his natural protective instincts were kicking in. Personally, you don't think that these thugs are in on the whole 'killing your family' problem, but still… they could sell you out, but you honestly didn't have any other options.

You were caught, so you might as well see where this all leads.

! #$%^&*()

You were surprised when the Rocket agents brought you up into the captain's control room, your eyes carefully scanning around to find all the exits, until your eyes stopped on a familiar figure, his back turned to the three of you, and you watched as he was ordering his sailors on the brig to work a little harder and faster, until his head turned to notice the three, or rather four, Rockets standing on his desk, his bright blue eyes glaring until they fell on the smallest member of the four. "Violet? Kid? What are you doing here?"

"Sir, you know the kid?" Fred boldly asked, but the Rockets all stood in shock as the captain of the shipping vessel rushed over, and instead of fearful crying you let out an exasperated sigh, letting the muscular man pick you up and throw you up slightly into the air, before grinning as he caught you in his arms.

"Mr. Surge," you mumbled quietly, letting your head rest on his shoulder as he held you against his chest in a firm, yet comforting hug.

"It's lieutenant, kid," he chuckled at you before frowning and glaring at the three Rockets, who stood at attention, but also looked on in utter confusion, "but what the hell are you even doing here? Shouldn't you be with your father? –" But, before he could continue to speak, he hear you sniffle against his ear, and he sighed and shook his head. "That bad, huh?"

"I-I… I'm sorry –"

"Kid, don't be sorry. We can talk about this later, alright?" he told you with a light smile on his face, slowly placing you back on the ground, and as you looked up at him with slightly tearful eyes, though you didn't shed a tear, his bright blue eyes turned into a glare as he turned to the Rockets that were standing by the door. "How about you three explain what's happened? Why is there a kid on my ship? Did you kidnap her?"

"Actually –"

"I brought her onboard," Marko stated, taking a step forward as he glared at the captain, unsure if he should tell you to come over to him, but he at least glared at the man, unsure of how and why you know this man, "because she's a friend of mine."

"Is she now?" the captain stated with a smirk before looking down at you, noticing how your eyes were looking at a nearby exit, until he coughed roughly into his fingerless gloved hand, getting your attention. "Violet, private, explain what the boy means."

"Mar – I mean Frank," you quickly stated, knowing that Marko wouldn't want his cover blown, "I ran into him, while I was in the city. I-I'm trying to get as far away from Johto as possible, sir."

The Rockets, and some of the onlooking sailors, were a bit surprised that such a small little girl spoke as if she were, indeed, a private in some military army division, but the lieutenant didn't care, or notice, the group of onlookers as he continued to question you.

"That so? Where's your father?" Lt. Surge asked once more, and you bit your bottom lip, forcing back the tears as you continued in a shaky tone of voice.

"He… he's dead… sir. He was thrown off of a cliff, a-and I'm afraid that I'm going to be next," you told him, honestly, your head turning away as you stared at the floor, unable to keep eye contact as you pushed back the need to cry, again. You could hear him sigh deeply, perhaps in regret, and as you looked up you watched the man run his hand through his messy, spiky yellow hair, and you blinked a few times before sighing deeply to yourself. "You don't owe me a thing, though. Plus, I have an idea who is to blame and I just want to leave –"

"I know what happened," the man grumbled underneath his breath before giving you a sympathetic smile. "You and your father didn't deserve this. Not one bit. I feel like it's partially my fault –"

"Why?" you asked roughly, glaring up at the man as he smirked and shook his head, scratching the back of his head as he chuckled underneath his breath.

"It's just… I had a feeling, you know, but I didn't do a dang thing about it… You agents are free to leave," the captain stated sternly to the Rockets, but the two partners quickly shook their heads.

"Lt. Surge, we –"

"Don't worry about it, 'kay? I'll make sure your Boss hears about who was responsible in finding the kid. You're dismissed." Knowing they couldn't argue with the captain, Jerry and Fred decided to leave, a bit reluctantly, but Marko stayed, glaring at the man. "Didn't you hear me, boy? –"

"I'm not leaving until I know my friend here is safe," Marko stated, bluntly, and the man smirked at the boy.

"Right, you. Ah… You can stand by the door, grunt, and keep an eye out for danger. There's something I need to talk to the girl about," he told the boy, motioning for Marko to stand by the door before he walked over to you, kneeling down on one knee so he could stare you straight into the eyes. "Violet… I know this is tough for you. I would have assumed you would run to one of your father's little friends, instead of showing up at some Team Rocket cargo ship. Why?"

"I just… know that a ship will be the easiest way to escape the region," you stated simply, frowning up at the man. "Don't you believe me?"

"I believe you kid. You just came at a bad time," he smiled lightly to you, but soon gave you a grin as he stood to his feet, motioning for you to follow him further into the large captain's control room. "You're scared and frightened, and you cannot trust anyone, I bet. Look, I'll help you out, okay. Just keep quiet for a while as we get this ship going. We can talk more when we're out at sea… if that's alright with you."

"Okay," you responded meekly, the man grinning as he put his hand on your head, rustling up the cap on your head and messing up your hair, and you gave him a pout as he grinned, turning his back on you for a moment as he suddenly shouted a few orders, one of them being for his crew to get their butts back to work.

Your eyes glanced to Marko, noticing the nervous look on his face, but you felt more at ease then you have in a while. Lt. Surge is a guy you've met before, among many, but he always has this light heartedness about him that always brings a smile to your face. Plus… if anyone were to give you answers right now, and wouldn't just get in the way, then it'd be him. He knows how to get right to the point, and honestly, you didn't realize he was some undercover supporter of Team Rocket. Are there other gym leaders out there that are you weren't aware of?

But before you could start questioning your relieved situation, you heard a pokemon being released from its pokeball, and you noticed it was a strong and powerful raichu. Lt. Surge patted the pokemon on the head before motioning to you as he turned back to looking over his sailors while they rushed about the brig.

You couldn't help but smile as the familiar raichu grinned at you, sparks flying from his cheeks with his fists clutched before he rushed over and jumped into your gut. "Rai! It's been a while," you chuckled lightly, slumping down onto the polished floor, and letting the raichu sit on your lap as he pinched your cheek and suddenly flipped the Rocket cap off of your head, letting it fall to the ground beside you. "How's the lieutenant?"

"Peachy as rain, but what the hell are you doing here, private? You shouldn't be here. I mean… I think the humans have been trying to look for you, but –"

"Why?" you had to ask, but the raichu shrugged his shoulders.

"Beats me, kid, but he was awfully worried. Say, why don't we go hang out in the office? There's a mini fridge there."

"Sounds like a deal," you grinned back, letting the raichu jump off of your lap before you stood to your feet, snatching up your hat as you did as you slumped it on your head, not bothering to fix your, now, flowing hair, and you rushed over to Marko's side, tugging on his sleeve. "Marko," you whispered up to him, getting his attention, "Surge's raichu and I are going to the captain's office. Come with us."

"Alright, I guess," he chuckled nervously, glancing at the raichu and knowing none of the pokemon he had on end could ever compete with a gym leader's ace pokemon, but that didn't seem to matter as he saw just how familiar the raichu acted with you, and he smiled meekly to himself, following after the two of you as the raichu led the way to the captain's office.

)(*&^%$# !

Noticing his raichu successfully led the girl away from the brig, and knowing that his raichu could do just that, he turned his attention to a particular control panel, pressing a button and waiting as a projection suddenly appeared in front of him, showing a darkened figure, shrouded by the dark room they were in, with a broken up voice that stated, "Sir. What is the problem?"

"No problem. Tell the Boss guy that I found his kid."

"Did you? –"

"Don't test me, girl. Just tell the Boss that his kid is with me," the lieutenant stated, ending the call abruptly, but he paused for a moment before sighing deeply to himself, knowing that something wasn't quite right here.

So, he quickly sat down in one of the many chairs in the room, picking up a phone and quickly pressing a particular set of numbers, sending him directly to the source. "… Hey… Hey Gio. It's Lt. Surge… Yeah, your grunts are doing fine. Listen, I have some good news for you – Yeah! How did you know!?... Oh… Well, at least your kid is safe, eh?" the lieutenant chuckled lightly before sighing to himself and leaning against the chair he was sitting in, letting his feet fall upon the table as he stared off into the distance, at his busy looking sailors and crew members as they continued to get ready to leave the port. "Listen… Gio. I have a bad feeling with that secretary of yours. If she wasn't the one who told you that the kid was here, then I may have tipped her off… Yeah… Yeah, I'll make sure nothing fishy happens. We'll be leaving port in less than an hour, so hopefully the coppers aren't tipped off by then… Yeah… Yeah, okay.

"Yeah, don't worry about a thing. _Don't you trust me~?_... Thanks man. We'll get to the bottom of this problem as soon as possible. I have a feeling there are too many minor people that know too much about the situation. Hey, not my fault, man. Just giving you a heads up.

"Right… okay… I'll see you in few weeks. Bye," the captain finished, sighing deeply to himself as he slumped back in the chair, putting the phone back in place as he glared off into the distance.

He cannot help but have this feeling that there are some spies who have infiltrated the team, and who they are? He isn't quite sure, but…

It's best to keep the focus off of the kid. For now, he needs to do his job, and he'll handle the girl later. After all, his raichu is keeping an eye on the gal, and he'll deal with the situation once they leave Olivine.

! #$%^&*()

A/N: Hey guys. Sorry for not posting this chapter sooner. I got a bit sidetrack last week, but here's the next chapter. This story is a bit longer than I expected, but oh well. I would have added a lot more to this part of the story as well, but I figured I wrote enough down. There's a lot of sailing and drifting along, but hopefully the story will pick up towards the ending. I hope you guys are ENJOYING the story, and if you want to give me any COMMENTS I'm more than happy to hear them.


	12. CH11: Cautious Traveler

You were honestly surprised when no one showed up, suddenly throwing you in some sort of cell or a room, locking the door behind them. You had free range as you let the powerful Rai lead you through the cargo ship, and eventually you spent the rest of your time in the captain's office, gorging yourself on cheese and crackers, and releasing your pokemon as you all sat on a couch, feeling full and content with your little snack. Even Marko seemed to be relaxing, against the door as he kept it closed, but stood by to listen in to anyone passing by.

You had almost fallen into a deep sleep until you heard the door open, snapping your body awake, and Spirit and Rai jumped down, about to battle whoever showed up, while Don had shifted from his curled up spot on top of a bookshelf to see what was the matter. But, it wasn't until everyone noticed it was the tall blonde captain that the pokemon to settle down, and for you to relax back against the decorative couch pillow you head was laying upon.

"We just left port," Lt. Surge told you with a smirk upon his face. "We're on our way to Vermillion City, but have a few stops along the way… Grunt, you can leave if you want –"

"I'm staying," Marko glared, but you slowly sat up, rubbing your sore eyes, letting Spirit jump onto your lap and slump his head down on your warm black pants while the raichu easily jumped back onto the cushion he had been sleeping on, leaning back into the couch and staring at his human owner with a bored look on his face.

"Kid –"

"Sir, he's a friend," you decided to say, again, and the man sighed, shaking his head at you.

"Okay. Fine. But if you're sticking around, why don't you tell me who you _really~_ are," the man decided to say, and you watched Marko give the man a nervous look, glancing at you to notice the meek smile on your face. The grunt sighed as he walked further into the room, glaring at the lieutenant as he found himself sitting down on his own couch, popping open a beer bottle with ease, and Marko coughed into his hand before he began to lean against the far wall.

"I'm… from Goldenrod City. The name is Marko Ciccone. I have several siblings, under the same mother, but some of us have different fathers. I'm the oldest out of the bunch, and… I joined Team Rocket to give my brothers and sisters an opportunity for a better life. I cannot afford to go to high school, let alone college, and I don't make the best grades, so… here I am," Marko explained, simply, and he noticed you had leaned against the raichu, letting your eyes fluttering close as you felt your body fall deep into fatigue, but the man nodded his head in response and turned his gaze to you.

"That true, Violet? –"

"Marko is like a big brother to me," you decided to say, your eyes closed as you leaned comfortably into the electric pokemon's soft fur, your hand lazily running through your silver eevee's soft and slightly dirty fur as you continued solemnly. "One of his brothers is a best friend of mine. I-I know their family quite well… His grandmum is the best," you continued, opening your eyes to look at the older boy, who gave you a slight frown, but you smirked at him before glancing lazily at the man sitting on the other side of the couch. "… Aren't you going to ask me about what happened?"

"If you want to talk, then alright," Surge responded, taking a deep gulp of the beer in his hand, and you grumbled as you slumped into the raichu's fur, wondering where you should start before shifting to stare over at the foreigner, with an unsure gaze.

You decided to tell him almost everything, though you omitted the suspicion you had towards your father's friends and that you didn't want anyone to get hurt because of you, but you explained the situation to him as well as you possibly could. There was a lot of questions you personally had, but you decided to be honest with the man. After all, he'd know what the best course of action actually is. You might as well ask, shouldn't you?

"So… no body has been found?" you heard the lieutenant asked, and you meekly shook your head in response.

"I-I don't know, but… He fell from the top of a cliff, sir. I-I don't think he can survive that."

"And you think there's an assassin hired to kill your parents, and you?" Surge had to ask, and you pouted at his question.

"I-I… well, daddy protected me, and mum did too. I-I can only assume that he wants me dead, too… I think he's one of those Aura users, actually," you decided to tell the man, and he frowned at this, gulping down a bit more of his beer before sighing to himself.

"Geeze, kid. I cannot believe you had to deal with all of that. **And** an Aura user? We're certainly going to have our work cut out for us," he sighed, glancing at the boy leaning against the wall, noticing the solemn, irritated look on Marko's face shining through, before looking over at you and smirking in your general direction. "So, what are the plans now?"

"Get as far away from Johto as possible. Keep running until I think I can stop," you decided to say, glancing over at the lieutenant and frowning at him. "I'm… just a kid. What can a kid do against a bunch of adults anyways? I-I'm not… strong enough to fight back."

"True," Surge sighed, shaking his head before slumping into his couch and placing his empty beer bottle down on a nearby counter, before staring back at you and noticing just how skinny your body has become, causing him to frown. He slowly stumbled to his feet as he made his way to his mini fridge, his eye peering into the chilling contraption with mild interest. "You just need to prepare yourself. Now that you know what's after you, you can make the right precautions to fight back," the man decided to say, suddenly grabbing a container of leftovers and placing the container upon your lap, before sitting back down and opening up another beer bottle. "… You're a smart kid Violet, but fear can lead to a person's ruin. We'll… we'll figure it all out tomorrow, 'kay, but you're welcome to stick around, until you can come up with something better," he smirked at you, drinking from his bottle as you sighed and closed your eyes, feeling groggy and too tired to care where you were sleeping.

! #$%^&*()

You stared at yourself in the mirror, an unsure look on your face as you held a bottle in one hand, and a brush in another. For the past few days, almost an entire week now, you've been on this cargo ship, bound for Vermillion, and while you understand why, you didn't want to end up in Kanto. It's far too close to the Pokemon League, especially the Indigo League. So, after spending your time exploring, and observing, and taking in the operations, you decided that now was the time to, well, leave.

You cannot thank Lt. Surge and even Marko enough for helping you out, but now it was time to be back on your own… no matter how unsure you are about leaving, in the first place.

To have people who care about you, keeping a lookout for you, was comforting, but you didn't want them to get into trouble, and you especially don't want them to get hurt. Plus… you told yourself you wouldn't end up associated with a team, yet here you are, on a ship filled with Rocket members, perhaps acting more like an accomplice then you would like.

There were three stops before reaching Vermillion City. However, only the first island had two towns you could get to in order to jump onto some random ship and disappear forever, while the next two stops only had one port each, on their small little islands. Stoneguard, one of many random islands in the sea, happens to be a large island with a big inactive volcano in the center. The island is mainly used for mining ore and precious stones, and while there aren't that many tourists, most of the local's economy comes from the locals that show up to the ports, to gather supplies or spend a moment shopping on the island. If you can get to the other side of the island, then you can make it to the other town, and jump onto one of the first ships you see, and get as far away from the Kanto and Johto area as humanly possible.

While you'd rather stay with people that can help you, you personally decided this was the best course of action to leave… even if you're worried that you're going to end up dead, or worse.

So with a reluctant sigh, you began to dump the contents of the bottle into your hair, using the brush to comb the wet liquid through your long locks of hair, and you leaned your head over the sink, careful to not make too much of a mess as you rubbed the dye into your hair. The light brown hair dye ended up dark brown in your black hairs, but you needed to look, well… different, so this is the best you can come up with. You hated the idea of dying your head, but you bet they are looking for a kid with black hair. So you might as well change your hair color to be something else entirely.

Even if Don and even Spirit aren't very happy with your reckless decision. After all, what was the point of buying the hair dye if you don't use it?

You ran your hair through the running water in the sink, trying to get the dye to stay into your hair before rinsing the rest of the gunk off of your head. You used a blow dryer to make your hair damp, before picking up a pair of scissors and staring into your reflection. Your messy, untamed, wavy hair looked, honestly, horrible and plain, but at least you weren't as recognizable as you usually are. But… you had to cut your hair short. Not too short, but short enough that your hairstyle isn't the same as it usually is. So, reluctantly, you chopped off your long hair, to your shoulders, and you also attempted to cut your bangs, but only a bit, up to your eyebrows, in a diagonal 'v', so parts of your hair would somewhat cover your eyes, but not completely.

You stared at your refection in the mirror for a moment, wondering if you should do something more. You tugged on the ends of your now dark brown hair, your unique crystal blue eyes staring back at you.

Hair… that didn't really fit your mother or your father. You weren't even sure from whom you got the black hair, but the violet… that was your grandmother, on your mother's side, but your hair couldn't compare to her beautiful long locks, so why bother. But… your eyes… a perfect, harmonious combination of your father and mother. Your mother's bright, cherry, blue eyes and your father's somber, cold, yet content silver eyes.

You couldn't bring yourself to covering those eyes, no matter how easily you'll be noticed from afar. Your eyes… they are a part of who you are, and… it's all that you have left, of your family.

Speaking of family, you reaching over for a necklace you had been wearing for a quite a while, picking up the silver object and staring down at the pendent. It was fancy, but relatively simple, a necklace that's fitting for a child. The pendent was an arrowhead, carved out from a moonstone, you believe, wrapped in thin silver wires, to keep the pendent in place. At the top, there was a little loop where the thin silver chain slipped through the pendent, and you studied the small little beads that decorated the sides of the pendent, perfectly identical and stopping at the ends by thin wires wrapped around the silver chain. The beads looked… like stones, rough stones, attempted to be polished and identical, but no one bead was the same to the other. They were dark stones, a few lighter, red stones, and you wondered what sort of cool stones made up this necklace.

You wondered what sort of guy your grandfather was, on your father's side. To craft you these trinkets, expecting you to wear them. Was he a jeweler, perhaps? An artist?

You wonder what sort of cold blood caused your father to not talk about your grandfather at all… or even your grandmother. Who were they? What sort of people were they? Just… why don't you know anything about them?

You know a lot about your mother's folks. The fun things she used to do growing up, and the friends she had made along the way. How she met your father, and they got married. But… your father barely talked about his past, as if his life started when your mother came into the picture. They were always hiding something from you.

Always… secrets…

You're so tired of being kept in the dark. Even now, Lt. Surge knows something you don't, so what is he hiding from you?

"… If he won't tell me, then I'll leave," you told yourself as you slipped on a random tank top shirt before reaching for a pair of pants and slipping them on your hips. You're tired of adults keeping you in the dark, and what if he's going to turn you into the authorities? If he betrays you… there's no stopping him, if that's his plan, but you need to strategize. You need to be sneaky. You have to figure out a way to pry information out of the man, without alerting him to your intentions on leaving.

But then again… you doubt Surge hasn't already figured that you'd try to make a run for it, the moment the ship docks. So what'll he do to stop you?

You slipped on your jacket, not caring about looking like a grunt anymore. Instead, you looked like a normal, shitty little kid, who looks a bit dirty and underfed. But, with a slight smirk, you slipped on your new, yet old, black paperboy cap, tucking in your stray hairs into the cap, hoping it hid most of your new colored hairs.

You made sure your bag was entirely packed of your belongings before leaving your tiny little cabin room, intent on returning before the day is over… and leaving as soon as possible.

)(*&^%$# !

"Sir, I need to talk to you," you spoke, as sternly as possible, but you felt that your voice came off a bit too meek to your own liking. You watched as the blonde haired man glanced behind to notice you standing there, before turning away to shout at a sailor who wasn't doing his job properly.

"Can this wait, Violet? I have a lot of work to do –"

"If you wait, then I won't be talking to you anymore," you stated bluntly, the man glancing to raise an eyebrow at you before grumbling underneath his breath and motioning for his second in command to take over as 'head guy in charge' for a moment.

"Fine, if you insist. Be quick about it," he grumbled, shoving you a bit too lightly towards a corner of the control room, but as he noticed the outfit you were wearing, and the fact that your hidden hair looked lighter than it should be, he raised another curious eyebrow as you began to talk, sternly, but you were twiddling your thumbs, unable to stop yourself from acting nervous and unsure of yourself.

"Ah… Mr. Surge… I know that you're trying desperately to keep me here, with you, for some reason. I want to know – no, I-I need to know," you huffed, your eyes glaring up at him, the brim of your black cap hiding most of the features of your face, but your bright crystal blue eyes shone brightly, yet darkly, as you stared up at the man, "why you desperately want me to stay. I need to know, cause… adults… especially those involved with the League, can't be trusted," you pouted up at him, narrowing your eyes at him, "and if I cannot trust you, how can I stay here? For all I know, you could be turning me into the authorities. So, why?"

He sighed, deeply, running a hand through his spiky blonde locks of hair. He glared down at you, and you know he didn't want to respond to your questions, but then he smirked lightly and glanced off into the distance, outside a window, towards the island the ship was slowly approaching, from afar. "… I know a lot more about your family then I have let on," he began, somberly, turning to look down at you with a sad look on his face. "I was hoping you wouldn't ask, but then again, considering your father, and heck your grandfather, I shouldn't be surprised," he smirked at the thought before frowning and shaking his head. "You're all so stubborn."

"If I wasn't stubborn, then I'd never learn the information I need to know," you huffed up at him, your eyes continuing to glare at him. "I hate secrets, but apparently, no one wants to just stop lying and tell me the truth. Shouldn't I have the truth?"

"You should, but the truth is more of a liability to have then a simple lie… It's easier to lie," he decided to say, but you shook your head at him.

"But it's best to just be truthful, or else you end up confusing everyone you know and love. So… just tell me why. Are you betraying me?" you had to ask, but he instantly shook his head.

"Of course not, kiddo. I would never. In fact, I would find it horribly disrespectful if I did such a thing," he huffed, but noticing the confused look on your face, he smirked, crouching down so he was eye level with you, causing you to frown back at him. "… The truth can hurt, Violet. Are you _sure~_ you'd like me to tell you my reasons to keep you around?"

"Yes. Most definitely, yes," you huffed, glaring at him, but as you watched the distort look appearing on his face, your eyes studying the creased lines and slight wrinkles upon his face, you smiled meekly, feeling his hand patting your head, until he was down on one knee, keeping his eyes upon you as you began to fidget, nervously, under his intense staring.

"… The man I had known wasn't your father, kid, but your grandfather," you heard Surge say, your head turning to look at him curiously as he continued somberly. "We were drafted into the war at about the same time, though he was a bit older then myself. Yet, I ended up as a lieutenant, under his command, and it was through his strategizing and skills that I ended up surviving… My raichu and I have been through a lot," he smiled meekly at the thought, before his darkening blue eyes turned to you, "but there's a lot of memories I'd like to forget.

"But let me tell you, we kept in contact after the war, when the regions began to start rebuilding themselves, some of them from the ground up. I decided to stay in Kanto and stick around cause, well… I wasn't going to go back home. Not at all. I had turned my back on that life when I joined the war, and well… there was nothing for me back home, so I made this place my own," he smiled lightly, suddenly putting his hand upon your head and causing you to look up at him, utterly confused. "I did a lot of stupid stuff in my youth, but the one thing that kept me grounded was your grandfather, Violet. He always said the right things that kept me going, and even if we've fought a few times, I wouldn't trade my relationship with the man for anything else.

"That is why… I kept quiet that… well," he sighed, his broad hand slowly leaving your head, and you quickly pushed up your hat so your hair wouldn't start to flutter down onto your shoulders, "he wasn't exactly… dead."

"Wha… What?" you managed to stutter, staring up at him with wide eyes, but you watched him flinching as you narrowed your eyes and began to grit your teeth, your teeth grinding as you almost began to snarl in disgust. "W-what? What?! What!? You knew this and didn't tell me!? S-sir I-I –"

"Kid, please –"

"I trusted you!" you blurted out, and he couldn't help but flinch away, in shame, until he noticed that his own crew members were looking over, some with intrigue that a girl was yelling at the captain, and others in utter shock that a kid would raise her voice to a gym leader. "I thought you were on my side, but if you've been keeping this a secret all this time! –"

"I'm telling you **now** , aren't I?" he huffed, oddly keeping an even and calm tone in his voice, even if his eyes and gritted teeth only showed his irritation to your reaction. "You wanted the truth, there it is… Now you know," he snorted, but he didn't move from his knelt position, slowly waiting for you to respond, and when you just stood there, your fists clutched to your sides, your eyes prickling with tears, he sighed and shook his head, glancing away and glaring at his crewmates, and once he noticed they were moving about, minding their own business again, he turned back to you and forced a meek smirk on his face. "It was by his request, kid. In fact, I think both your father and grandfather wanted to keep that information from you –"

"Bu-ut… but why? Why is everyone keeping secrets from me?" you suddenly sniffled, and he watched as you slowly scrunched down onto your knees, still standing on your feet, but you slumped your head into your upper legs, trying your hardest not to start bawling in frustration and anger. "A-am… am I so w-weak that… n-no one trusts me w-with the truth?"

"No, no kid. No! That's certainly not true," he managed to smile, a bit more genuine, as he reached over and gently patted you on the back, but had a feeling he probably shouldn't try to lean forward and hug you. You may not like that, and he could only assume you wanted your space, right now. "Just… Let's just say your grandfather is into some **very** shady business," he decided to tell you, and as he noticed your eyes peeking from your legs to look over at him, he smirked, scratching the back of his neck, before huffing and shaking his head at the thought. "Personally, I have no idea what your father's relationship was to your grandfather. For all I know, he may have hated him, or maybe not. I don't know.

"Regardless, I guess the two of them agreed to keep that… particular aspect of your grandfather a secret. I don't know what you already know, and I'm certainly not going to blab too much, but… I suppose your parents figured it was best to simply say your grandfather is dead. That way, you wouldn't go looking for him… and I doubt little Silver wanted that," he smiled meekly at you, but noticing the sad look in your eyes, he continued calmly, sighing deeply underneath his breath, "but let me tell you, family means everything to your grandfather, believe it or not. I wouldn't be surprised if he knows even more about your parents murders then the police do," he smirked, but then frowned and shook his head again.

"Look kid, I'm only telling you this because… well, your grandfather is looking for you. He probably wants to know if you survived, that you weren't killed off or in some ditch somewhere. I know this is painful, but I also plan on keeping you safe, and bringing you to him. I mean, honestly, I doubt I can stop you from whatever it is you plan on doing with your life, but just know that you **do** have a relative that cares about you. You may not know him, but he does care." Surge manage to give you a simple smile, but he watched you carefully as you slowly let out a shuddering sigh of defeat, slowly standing back upon your feet, your eyes transfixed on the ground, but you managed to stop yourself from crying again.

You just didn't feel the need to cry. You were just angry, frustrated, is all.

But then again… Mr. Surge was honest with you, so… what will you do about this new piece of information?

"… I was planning on leaving," you decided to say, your eyes still teary and a bit red as you tried to stop yourself from bawling in frustration, but you didn't care to see the man's reaction as you turned to look out the glassy window, at the waters and the bright blue sky, the sunlight reflecting into the room you now stood in, "and getting as far away as possible. To run away from my problem cause… I thought… I was alone.

"That no one can help me," you blurted out, turning back to him and managing to give him a serious look, your eyes narrowed, though you had a hard time fully seeing the man in front of you. "Then… answer me this, can this grandfather of mine really be of any help to me? Would I just… end up being a burden to him, and end up getting him killed cause of whoever is after me?"

You studied the foreigner as he slowly stood to his feet, a thoughtful look on his face as he brushed off some dirt from his knees, but in actuality he was rubbing his sore kneecaps, wishing for the blasted pain to stop. "I think… that your grandfather is a very smart and influential man. If he hasn't figured out who is after his granddaughter, then he'd certainly figure it out, and if he doesn't think you can be safe with him, then… he'll know where to put you, so you **can** be safe." He noticed you were studying him, waiting for him to give some sort of gesture that he could be lying.

But… you saw nothing, and you flinched as the man patted you on top of the head, before taking a step away from you, towards the crew that was still running around and working as hard as possible to make sure the ship docked into the port as safely, and quietly, as possible. "It's up to you what you decide, Violet. I won't stop you if you decide to leave, but if you do stay, I promise that I'll deliver you safely to your grandfather. You have my word, not just as a lieutenant and a captain, but as a man as well."

"I… O-okay," you managed to squeak out, your voice hesitant as your eyes studied him intently, watching as he walked away from you with a smirk, and relieved his second in command as he took control of the ship, once more.

You stood there, unsure of what you should do. This is the only real chance you have to get off of this ship and find another boat to jump aboard, and to get as far away from these Rockets as possible. Yet… deep down… you wanted to see who this relative of yours is.

For as long as you've been alive, you've only heard of stories about your grandfather. You never met the man, and you always thought he had died long before you were born.

But… to learn that he is alive… both hurt you, but also gave you a bit of hope. You're not alone anymore. You're not on your own. Or rather, you don't **have** to be on your own, but… should you be? Like your Auntie Blue, should you cut all ties to those you know and love and try to make a new life for yourself, as far away from the people who both know and love you, but can also harm you, as physically possible? To hope that nothing seriously harmful will ever come your way again.

You just… you just don't know, but you're running out of time. You know that.

And maybe… you should ask what Don and Spirit think about this. You have no doubt that Spirit overheard the lieutenant, and for all you know, Don was in on this little secret also.

Giving the man one last look, you slowly stepped out of the control room, and calmly making your way down the hallway, ignoring anyone you passed by, stuck in your own little world as you sluggishly made your way outside, for some much needed fresh air.

! #$%^&*()

 **A/N: HEY GUYS! Sorry for not updating. I was planning on reviewing and posting this chapter sooner, but I got busy this week, but either way, I am VERY close to being done. This part is about twenty chapters long, so we're almost half way there! These next few chapters get rather boring, but this first parter is written in a way to not only introduce Violet, but also some other OCs. Some may stay important, while others will fade into the background. Right now, I'm not sure if I'll do two parts or three parts to this little series. I may also post this story on one of my other accounts, but this website is where I'll mainly be posting the mini series. I'll probably change how I format the story once I finish this first part, just in case I lose inspiration to write the second part. I could honestly stop the story at the end of this first parter, but I hope I won't. I'll try to update more often, but first I'll finish writing the chapters, and then I'll review and post them. I learned much earlier in my writing that I can lose inspiration quickly, so these days I try to write a bunch of chapters before thinking of posting the story, if I will. That's why I don't post stories often anymore.**

 **And I'm still deciding how far I'll go with this story, still. If you guys have any COMMENTS or ideas, or you just want to talk, I'm certainly free to. Just so you guys know, I may change the title of this story so it says 'part I' or something like that, or I may just imply that in the second parter. Don't know yet. I'm still deciding all of this. Either way, I hope you guys ENJOYED this chapter, and I'll see you guys in the next chapter!**


	13. CH12: Decision Making

You leaned against the railing, Don upon your shoulder and Spirit by your leg. You gazed out at the waters, seeing the island that was coming closer and closer to your line of sight.

You were deep in thought. Of course, your pokemon weren't too much help. Don stated that the decision was up to you, and you alone, while Spirit argued that this guy you've never met has ever gone out of his way to meet you himself… until you were completely alone. And besides, while the lieutenant may not seem to be lying, who knows if this guy who is supposedly your grandfather is the real deal?

You had noticed how quiet Don was during the argument, and you realized that he probably knew, all along, that you had some long lost grandfather that never went out of his way to even meet you. To see you. To… simply introduce himself to you.

But the honchkrow was right. The decision was up to you. Just… you don't know what to do, anymore.

You thought you were helplessly alone in this. That you cannot and should not rely on other people. In fact, you probably shouldn't at all, but… a grandfather you never met, who could actually manage to protect you. For all you know, this could all be his fault anyways. Who's the say it was your father screwing up that caused his death?

You don't know how long you've been standing out there, contemplating your choices, but you snapped out of your thoughts as you sensed someone was behind you, but you barely turned around as you heard a deep sigh, and a figure walking to lean against the railing as well, glancing over at you before looking at the land that was coming into view. "… What 'cha doing, kid?"

"Thinking," you responded bluntly, glancing at Marko and noticing he was staring off into nothingness, and you sighed, turning away from him and looking at the island, the tropical paradise that you can easily slip into, to disappear from the sight of these thugs and find yourself in a completely new and different place.

"About what?" you heard him ask, but when he didn't hear a response, he slowly turned to you, frowning in your general direction. "What's wrong, Vi? You only get this quiet when you're conflicted about something."

You sighed deeply in response, slumping your shoulders and leaning more onto the railing, feeling as if the weight of the world was pressing down onto your shoulders, and you had no way of recovering. But, when you realized Marko wasn't going to say anything until you did, you slowly stood a bit straighter, shifting your shoulders slightly so Don would flap back onto a less sore spot, before deciding to say what was on your mind. "Lt. Surge… told me something troubling."

"What?" you could hear his voice full of concern, but you shook your head and turned to smile meekly at the teen man.

"Marko, how would you feel if… a person, a relative, you never met before, never bothered to attempt to contact you in any way, a person you thought was dead, suddenly popped out of nowhere and wanted you to live with them. Would you," you continued, turning back to stare off at the ocean waters as the water splashed up against the gradually moving ship, "decided to… see this person… or not bother meeting them at all? After all, they never tried to meet you before. Why should you care now?" You knew deep down you had said too much, but honestly, you didn't care, and you desperately needed some advice right now.

You could hear him sigh beside you, your eyes glancing only slightly to notice he had a thoughtful look on his face, and then, as if he realized what he was going to say, turned to you, even as you turned away and looked in the opposite direction he was standing in. "… Less than a year ago, my father's sister reached out to talk to me," he began, somberly, staring out to the waters, deep in thought. "It was over the phone, and at the time I was still at home, with my grandmum. She wanted to know all about me. My hobbies, what I liked. Stuff like that. She wanted to get to know me in a way my father never did. It was nice to feel… wanted. Sure, I wasn't sure about her at first, but… she seemed sincere enough, and wanted to know all about me.

"Then she offered me a job," he continued simply. "This job, actually. It wasn't until I came to a top secret location in the city, a recruitment center, and confronted the woman for the first time, did I realize that, once again, I was being used," he frowned at the thought, glancing over at you before turning away and sighing deeply to himself. "That's a worst case scenario, Violet. Like my father, she is a manipulating bastard, who I never should have talked to.

"But then… I learned from her about my father. About her. About their family. Why my father was such a dick. That… in fact… there was a lot more secrets that I never realized," he decided to say, sighing to himself and shaking his head. "I changed, sure, but then again, I never could move forward if I didn't learn about that information. For the rest of my life, I know that I would always assume the worst of my father… and his family… but… there were reasons for the events that took place, and, well… I found it more worth my while to listen to it all… And besides," he huffed underneath his breath, "now, I have a job that can help me provide for my family. I know my grandmum isn't happy with my decisions, and what I'm probably doing, but by doing these jobs I know Horatio and Luka will have enough money to start their little pokemon journeys, and whatever Rosemary wants to do, I'll help as well. Plus, I know Clarissa left just because our grandmother cannot provide for all of us… I just hope for the best, with that girl," he decided to say, turning to you and giving you a light smile. "In other words, while ripping at old wounds was painful, I did learn a lot more about my family, and myself, and that I don't have to be like my father at all. That… I can be… me… Does that help?"

"I… suppose," you pouted, slumping your head against the railing as you glared at the island, at the port city you can see in the distance. "It's just… I'm afraid of a lot of things, Marko. I just… first," you frowned, leaning off of the railing to look up at him with a glare, but he could tell you weren't exactly looking at him, but past him, your mind swimming with worries and concerns that you probably wouldn't be telling him in the first place, but since he shared, you felt this need to share as well, "someone is out to get me. I cannot trust anything that is associated with the Pokemon League, at all. I-I don't know what my father did, but he messed up, big time, and now I-I'm afraid of being… next. And… all of the sudden some guy thinks he can say he's part of my family and I'll just accept that? H-he never went out of his way to talk to me before. Where was he when mum died?" You bit back the tears you wanted to shed, staring outward, but keeping your chin upon the railing. "… This feels just as crummy as if I were abandoned.

"I think I'd feel better if I never knew that I had a grandfather who faked that he had died to me all these years, and just live naïvely… for once," you pouted, but Marko couldn't help but smirk at the thought and shake his head.

"That so? Would you _truly~_ feel better if you lived naïve to all of this? To live in somewhat bliss that a relative you thought was dead is now alive, and there to help you?" he decided to say, glancing over at you and shaking his head. "You're not the type of gal to like to be lied to, kiddo –"

"B-but, my family is seeded in lies I never realized, till now. What else am I not seeing?! Was my mum a serial killer? Was my father some undercover butcher? D-do I have blood on my hands I never thought I had till now?! –"

"Stop," Marko huffed, suddenly flicking your nose and causing you to yelp in response, your hand instantly reaching for your nose. Don flapped about on your shoulder before glaring up at the man, while Spirit as holding back his snickering that you were completely caught off guard. "You're not being logical about this, and don't jump to conclusions… Perhaps you're right, though," he decided to say, a deep sigh leaving his breath as he ignored the glare you were still giving him, and the little snarl that was leaving your breath. "You don't know what your family members have done, but… I think you should give them the benefit of the doubt. There's always a secret underlining to everything they do and did, and perhaps you can be the one to uncover that… and perhaps help them change," he smirked, glancing over at you and noticing you weren't glaring at him anymore, but you still looked a bit irritated by his actions. "After all, we're all human. We may **think** we're in the right, but you never know if you are until you get insight from other people."

"… T-true," you responded, meekly, your aggression suddenly settling down to a smolder, and you pouted as you put your hand upon the rail, leaning against it, as you stared up at him, "but then… w-what if it doesn't work out? What if I'm being tricked, like you were? –"

"It's a chance you'll have to take," he shrugged, but then he sighed, suddenly kneeling down in front of you, holding out his hand and putting his hand upon your shoulder, causing you to look down into his dark golden eyes, "but I promise you, kid, that no matter what, I'll do everything in my power to keep you safe. If you want me to go with you, then I will. I won't mind it at all –"

"You… don't need to go that far," you frowned, glancing away a bit nervously, but then you turned to him and gave him a worried look, "and I don't want you to –"

"You can't stop me from being protective. We misfits have to stick together, eh?" he chuckled, patting your shoulder a couple of times before standing to his feet, "and my grandmum would give me hell if I didn't attempt to protect you. Any kid for that matter. So… why don't we go inside and get some breakfast? You're probably hungry," he decided to say, knowing that you probably haven't eaten a thing in a while, and unless you're asked or forced to, you're not going to think twice about eating.

You sighed in defeat, giving your pokemon light, meek smiles before sending them into their pokeballs, and pocketing the pokeballs into your pant pockets. "Oh… 'kay," you responded, meekly, following after the Rocket grunt as quickly as possible, now realizing just how loud your stomach was starting to growl.

! #$%^&*()

You didn't know what to do with yourself, so you spent your time inside the ship, in your room, staring up at the ceiling with a tired and irritated look on your face. Don had perched himself on top of a shelf that had been installed by the foot of your bed, and Spirit was currently taking a nap by your feet, enjoying the somber quiet that has befallen you, and the ship as a whole.

The Rockets, at least most of them, had taken to the streets, dressed up in touristy outfits or other casual attire, stretching their legs and enjoying the sights. The sailors were mainly aboard the ship, hauling crates on and off of the ship's cargo area, meaning your little spot, where you were currently staying, was completely quiet. Horribly quiet. It was very unsettling to be on a ship that was so quiet, but then again, you could hear footsteps passing by your room every so often, and your eyes would only stare at the door blankly before looking back to the ceiling.

Reluctantly… you decided to stay on board, with Surge, and meet this… grandfather of yours, but you still felt hopelessly betrayed by the man, if he's really a relative. But then again, Lt. Surge wouldn't tell you that he is your grandfather if he was lying. He isn't that sort of guy.

But… now… what are you to do? If you're truly going to stay then what's the point of leaving? Maybe you should have just left. The waiting and the quiet is causing you to slowly grow insane. You know it.

Slowly, you grabbed at the pendent around your neck, glancing down at it as it shimmered in the dimmed lights in your tiny cargo room. A gift from your grandfather… a **handmade** gift from your grandfather… but then again, maybe he didn't make it himself, but still… the materials were rather fancy. Expensive, probably. Just what sort of guy is he?

You know Surge isn't going to talk about the man further, and it's not like you have a name. Even if you did, you cannot question anyone else, and you aren't the best hacker. You doubt even Lt. Surge has information about your grandfather on this ship anyways, so… now what?

The ship should be leaving the docks in another hour or two, but you were tired and bored to wait for that long, in your room. Maybe you should go see Surge? Maybe hang out with his raichu? Perhaps you should mingle… but you aren't in the mood to see anyone right now. Not really. But… you are rather hungry… and maybe you should quench your thirst as well. "I'm going out," you told your pokemon companions, after a moment of pondering helplessly on the bed, and you send Spirit into his pokeball, while you let Don flap his wings and land on your shoulder. Having a shiny eevee running about is a lot more dangerous than a honchkrow, around a bunch of criminals. Plus, you'd rather keep your pokemon then lose them to slippery hands, so you shoved the pokeballs into your pockets, and let Don settle on your shoulder, much like a pirate would with a random sea bird.

And besides, Don knows a lot more powerful moves then Spirit, and you'd rather avoid confrontations then deal with some idiots aboard the shipping vessel.

Locking the door behind you and shoving your room key into your pocket, you made your way down the long lengthy hallways, your hand pushing down the brim of your cap over your face, even if you don't exactly have anything to hide. Just a nervous habit of yours, after all of these years of having to hide your face from others, all the time.

Luckily for you, when you came to a break room, you noticed no one was around. So, with a slight smirk, you walked into the tiny kitchen space, opening the refrigerator and snatching a soda pop and a package of fresh fruit. You quickly washed the fruit and placed it into a bowl, and lastly you found a bag of half eaten potato chips, and happily sat down onto one of the many couches and chairs lining the room. Don sat down beside you, munching on the berries from the bowl as you did the same, and you slurped your soda, enjoying the bubbly taste in your mouth as you looked around the break room.

Just how many bases does Team Rocket have? How far is their reach?

Your father told you many things about Team Rocket, most of it bad, and a tiny bit of good. The more you think about it, the more you realize… your father knew **way** too much about Team Rocket for that to be a coincidence. Sure, at the time you brushed it off, considering that your father always finds a way to get the information he was looking for, but he was oddly obsessed with the criminal group. As if… he knew more then what he was letting on.

"What does the team have to do with this?" you thought out loud, and as you noticed Don sitting there, now turned to you and staring up at you with a curious look, you smiled meekly and turned away. _"Sorry. Thinking to myself."_

" _You're doing that way too much, it seems. You could have run, if you wanted to, but now you decide to stay,"_ he decided to say, but you shrugged your shoulders in response.

" _You said I should make a choice. Well, I-I have… I suppose."_

"… _Silver had reasons for not telling you about your grandfather, hatchling. In fact, I didn't even know until… Let's just say that Team Rocket and your grandfather is linked,"_ Don told you, causing you to turn to him with wide, shocked eyes that he would even admit such a thing to you. _"If you go with your grandfather, then you will end up with Team Rocket, and if you want to find your grandfather, then you just have to search in the team. That's why your father wanted nothing to do with them, even if their extensive network of information can be very useful."_

" _R-right… but how? Why? Why are you being cryptic about this? –"_

" _Because you may change your mind,"_ he shrugged, glancing over at the lone open door. _"You may decide to leave this ship, and turn your back on the possibility of finding out more. Honestly, I think this is a bad idea. If Silver didn't want to associate himself with the human Rockets, then I don't think you should either, but this is your choice. Just… know that you may get hurt finding those answers you seek."_

" _I already know that,"_ you admitted, your voice getting quieter, _"and I know this is a bad road to walk down, but… right now… my options are slim. I-I shouldn't have to rely on other people to take care of me, but apparently I do, and I hate that."_

" _You should get strong –"_

" _Then how? I'm a human. A kid nonetheless. How is a hatchling supposed to get strong, if I am much to small and inexperienced to do so?"_

"… _Training. Studying. Get some experience. Don't be an idiot, hatchling. You know what you need to do, but you just have to put your mind to it,"_ you heard the honchkrow huff, causing you to pout and glance away, glaring at the wall as you sipped your soda. _"… If he's not everything you want him to be, what'll you do?"_

" _Well… Marko told me to give the guy a chance. I-I guess I'll try… I suppose,"_ you frowned at the thought, until the two of you heard a noise and you both snapped your heads towards the hallway, and the door, suddenly hearing shouting, causing you to get very curious. Slowly, you abandoned your food at the couch, kneeling down onto the ground as you snuck over to the wall by the door, and pressed your ear up, hoping you can overhear what was going on.

"Wha?... What is the big deal?... A kid, sir? Why?" you flinched at the words you could hear the man saying, and soon you heard a deep, tired sigh following his grumbling. "Wow… There's a kid like that running around? Think we can use her then?... I'll try, but the supervisor will be showing up soon, so I'll get it done by –… I see. Then I'll go find her –"

"Find who?" you heard a feminine voice ask, and you could tell the man beyond the wall was nervous by the sudden figure.

"Find no one, ma'am –"

"Good. You should be working outside, Josh. Go at it."

"Yes ma'am," you heard him respond, though he seemed to be grumbling underneath his breath as he left.

Hearing the woman approaching you flinched, quickly crawling on your hands and knees until you found yourself behind the nearby bookshelf, Don silently drifting on top of your head as you meekly looked at the door, hearing the woman approaching. Unluckily for you, you heard the woman sighing, and her feet stepping into the room. The moment you heard her walk into the room you moved to hide behind the bookshelf, a hand upon your mouth as you hid there, hoping the woman would go away.

You could hear her feet stomping across the wooden planks, making her way into the kitchen, and a grumble leaving her breath as she shuffled around. To your dismay, you could hear her approaching the place you were hiding against, hearing her sit down, only to swiftly stand up.

The room became quiet… your eyes darting around and your ears listening intently for any noise…

"Kid?" you heard the woman speak, causing you to shout in surprise, your elbow suddenly hitting the wall, and you cried out in pain, crumbling to the floor as you held your elbow and cursed underneath your breath. "Yikes, sorry for startling you, but why are you hiding there?" she huffed, your eyes glaring up at her while Don suddenly flew up, cawing in the woman's face before flying off and perching himself upon the couch you had been sitting upon, glaring at the woman as she glared back at him.

"I was… eating, okay? Then I overheard that guy talking in the hallway," you stated, hissing as you slowly stood to your feet, rubbing your sore arm as you glared up at the woman. "What's it to you, Mrs. Lina?"

"Ah… nothing. I just wanted a break," she huffed, turning to where she had been sitting, eyeing the honchkrow wearily, before sitting down and opening the can of soda she had taken from the refrigerator, taking a sip and ignoring you as you crept away from the bookshelf, making your way back to the couch and promptly sitting back down.

The two of you sat silently, sipping from cans of soda as you munched on potato chips and Don went back to eating the bowl of fruit. You don't know how long the silence wore down on the two of you, but eventually you heard the Rocket sigh, a bit reluctantly, and glanced over at you. "So… Josh… what was that guy saying?"

"Something about finding a girl and probably kidnapping her," you glared at the thought, glancing at the woman and noticing the shocked look she was giving you. "… What?"

"That was… strangely honest and specific."

"You asked. I told you," you huffed, turning away and sipping on your soda. "Hopefully that ass isn't talking about me, and I won't be having any problems."

"… May I ask you something, kid?" you heard her say, your eyes glancing over at her, glaring, and she sighed and shook her head at your angry gaze. "How can you be so… calm? If I heard someone was looking for a girl, and I was the only one on board, I would be scared. I would –"

"Run? Hide?... I'm so used to being scared that it's becoming another part of my life," you decided to say, glancing over at the far wall, where a tv was placed upon an empty crate, and you stared at the blank screen with a glare, a frown gracing your lips at the words you were admitting to. "Not only has my life been abnormal for about two years, but now I'm trying to get away from being killed off. Being kidnapped is the least of my worries," you huffed, the woman shaking her head and sighing at your response.

"That's horrible," Lina decided to say, and as she noticed you were looking at her she quickly stated, "I mean… A kid your age shouldn't be afraid of living their life… I get being scared though," she sighed thoughtfully to herself, glancing towards the door before looking back at you, "but don't worry about that guy. I'll keep an eye on him."

"Thanks… I guess –"

"I have to get back to work, but I suggest you go hide somewhere," she decided to tell you, standing to her feet and making her way to the door. "Why don't you see the captain? I'm sure Lt. Surge would love to have you around."

"Good idea, I guess," you answered, though you had a feeling going back to your room wouldn't be the best idea, right now. Watching her leave, you turned to Don, giving him an unsure look while he shrugged his shoulders and flew upward, landing upon your shoulder.

" _I suspect that guy is after you. Why? Don't know, but you should probably take the female's advice."_

You sat there for a moment, wondering if you should just stay here and keep eating, but… your nerves got the better of you, and you picked up the soda and chip bag, the bowl of fruit already empty, and you quickly placed the bowl into the sink, and quickly gulped down the soda before rushing out of the room. Don was on your shoulder while you clutched the chip bag, intent on eating more of the food before Surge could get his hands on it.

)(*&^%$# !

 **A/N: HEY GUYS! I would have posted this chapter sooner, but I got busy with work again. Plus, I was so intent on finishing this part of the story that I wanted to finish before I posted another chapter. So here it is! And yes, now I'm working on part two of this story, but I certainly won't post it until I finish posting the chapters to this part, first.**

 **I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far. Yeah, she's still stuck on a boat. It's going to be like that for a while, and a lot of inner monologuing, and such, but hopefully the story picks up enough eventually. I'm trying to use Violet to introduce a couple of the OCs, Marko being one of them. I don't know about Lina though… but Marko is an important OC in the story, at least for Violet he is. I still don't know if I'll make this story as a whole a one parter or two, but I'll see how much writing I do for the second part, before I make any final decisions. I'm going to try to post a chapter or two before Thanksgiving, or maybe even more, I don't know. Anyways, I hope you guys are ENJOYING the chapters, and I'll have another one posted as soon as possible!**


	14. CH13: Treacherous Waters

"Rai. Rai, no, no!" you giggled as the large thunder mouse tickled you with his tail around your neck. You yelped as Spirit jumped upward, tackling you to the ground, and sent the three of you tumbling across the wooden planks. Your body eventually rolled into a crate, stopping you from rolling off of the side of the ship. Don was perched up high on the ship, staring down at the three of you with an unimpressed look on his face.

That is… until he spotted someone approaching from a distance, and opened up his wings before swooping down, landing on top of the crate that you were currently leaning against. "Eh? What's the problem, Don?" you asked, your head turning slightly to stare up at the honchkrow while the shiny eevee stood on top of you, looking up curiously as well. It wasn't until the raichu let go of your neck and suddenly jump forward that you turned to notice someone approaching.

"Cap's raichu?" you heard someone say, a bit startled, only to notice you were up against a crate, staring at the sailor with wide, confused eyes. "Oh. Kiddo. You're still on board," he smirked, pulling out a cigarette from his pockets and using a lighter to light the end, and place the newly lit cigarette into his mouth as he fumbled through his pockets. "I would have thought you left the ship, like all those other Rockets."

"Who are you calling a Rocket?" you snorted, shifting to sit up as Spirit jumped off of you, only to leap into your lap, giving the sailor a cautious look. "I'm a _very~ proud~~_ _ **thief**_ , but no Rocket mutt, thank you very much."

"Wow! Geeze, didn't mean to hit a nerve!... I thought you were with the Rocket crew, though," he huffed, breathing out a breath of smoke, your eyes watching the trail of gray smog as you sighed and scratched the back of your itchy neck.

"Yeah… no. I may have snuck aboard with one of those grunts, but I'm not one of them. I'm just here for the ride. I just know Mr. Surge," you smiled lightly to the sailor, who chuckled and shook his head at you.

"Ah. Okay," he grinned, the two of you staring at each other in silence for a moment before he turned away, breaking eye contact, and you held out your arms, letting the big, fat raichu jump into your chest, his weight sending you to flop backward onto your back, causing another fit of giggles to leave your breath. The sailor couldn't help but glance over, casually, before quickly looking away.

Rai was trying to cheer you up, and now Spirit was in on the action. But now, their weights had pinned you to the ground, and you could tell Don was glancing down at the three of you with mild amusement while you began to let out tired, irritated groans of pain. "Ugh… okay, okay. I think I'm done, guys." The raichu snorted at your response, but noticing you weren't moving from your sprawled out state on the ground, he casually leapt off of you, Spirit doing the same, but as you sat back up Spirit jumped into your lap. You sighed in defeat as you slumped your head against the crate, and let out a deep, tired yawn. "Thanks Rai. I needed that."

"Of course!" the raichu squeaked, a charge of uncontrolled energy leaving his yellow cheeks.

You watched the overenergized raichu run around the deck in front of you, and you smirked when Spirit jumped out of your lap, attempting to chase after the raichu. You sighed to yourself as Don flapped down, landing on your shoulder, suddenly pecking the side of your head, causing you to yelp and glare at the honchkrow. He smirked at you mischievously before flying off of your shoulder, landing back up in his high roosting spot, and glancing down at the pokemon and humans below.

You found yourself slumping into the crate, your eyelids feeling heavy as you watched the two pokemon playing around. But before you could even think about falling asleep, a rather loud caw coming from Don snapped you out of your rest, your head quickly looking to the side to notice a figure, or rather two figures, coming towards you. Two Rocket grunts, to be exact, and the moment they spotted you, unsupervised, the only one on deck, and not noticing the sailor, they quickly made their way towards you. "Rai," you spoke up, as sternly and confidently as you could muster, and before the grunts could reach you, the raichu had already jumped in front of their path, growling as he let his body charge and look as intimidating as possible.

"Shit," you heard one of them say, but the other held up a hand, silencing the other, and he gave you a devious smirk, causing you to glare at the figures in front of you.

"No need to be alarmed, kid. The captain was looking for you," he decided to say, but you realized, and so did Don, that the voice was familiar. The honchkrow dramatically swooped down, landing on your shoulder as you slowly stood to your feet, using the crate to help you to your feet.

"Oh? The captain? I don't need an escort –"

"It's preferred –"

"I mean, I wouldn't _expect~_ danger to show up, unless it decided to. Josh, is it?" you smiled sweetly, but obviously the smile upon your face was strained. Your eyes showed that you were glaring at the two of them, but you noticed the sailor was leaning against the wall, behind their backs, watching the spectacle with curious, but unsure eyes. "… What do you want, with me? **Boy**?"

"Who are you calling a boy, squirt? –"

"I'll call you a boy if you're going to act like one. Or shall I say idiot? Dumbass? Liar? Because I can see the bullshit coming right out of your mouth," you huffed, and his companion snorted in response to your cursing.

"Damn it! I'm not putting up with you! Raticate, let's go! –"

"Thunder," you spoke in an orderly, stern way, and in response the raichu 'chuuu'ed, the skies becoming gray and darker as Rai let out a cry, a surge of electricity moving into his body and impulsively escaping, through his cheeks.

The raticate barely had a chance to understand what was going on until it was shocked by an overpowered electric attack, sending it tumbling to the ground. "Crap!" the grunt stated, returning his fainted raticate, but the Josh guy only huffed in response.

"Idiot. I told you to wait! Now we have to do this the hard way," he grumbled, throwing out his own pokeball, two pokeballs, and sending out a large muk and a small rattata. "Muk, go after that raichu! Rattata, attack the eevee!"

You decided to let Don take a back seat to this battle, considering the other guy didn't seem to have another pokemon, so you dramatically pointed out your hand towards the two pokemon. "Spirit, quick attack! Rai, use thunderbolt!" you exclaimed, knowing the raichu couldn't run fast enough to avoid the muk. Your eyes darted around, watching the battle unfolding, but out of the corner of your eyes you saw that other grunt making his way over to you, causing you to cautiously step backward. "… Spirit, sweep the thug off his feet!" you shouted, the grunt yelping as he was suddenly slammed into the floor, but your eyes were back on the battle in an instant. "Jump, and swift!" you shouted to the eevee, turning your attention to the raichu.

Honestly, Rai seemed to be able to handle himself, but you didn't want to give the jerks any sort of advantage. "… Rai, use thunder wave to slow the muk. Then, double team!" you shouted, but you quickly realized the other guy was standing to his feet, dashing towards you, and you jumped to the side, letting him run into the crate you were standing by, as you leapt up onto another crate, climbing as quickly as possible to avoid the two Rockets. "Don, quick!" you told the honchkrow, who swooped down, sucker punching the grunt, and sending him flying off of the crate he was climbing up, a yelp leaving his breath as he hit the ground, hard. "Dark pulse him into the sea!" you told Don, who happily followed your orders, the surge of dark energy causing the man to fly up into the air, yelling as he did, and plummeting into the waters below the ship.

"Damn it!" you heard that Josh fellow shout over losing his partner, but you stood on the crate, glaring at him from on top of the unstable structure. "Bitch, you'll pay for that! –"

"I'll stop fighting if you'd just walk away," you huffed in response, Don sitting upon your shoulder while Rai easily attacked the muk without orders. Spirit was running around in circles with the rattata, the two of them waiting for orders, though your eevee was getting impatient and was close to simply attacking on his own. "I'll forget this ever happened, and you and your buddy can go back to being little spies for… whoever sent you here."

"No dice," he snorted in response, pointing to his rattata. "Rattata, use bite!"

"Distract with sand attack!" you called out, watching as your eevee kicked up the dirt around him, sending a puff of cloudy dirt and dust in the rattata's face, and into the face of the human, causing you to smirk a bit too crudely at your foe. "Now, your turn. Use bite!" you shouted, watching as your eevee jumped into the cloud of dust, and you turned your attention to the raichu and muk battle. "Rai, finish the muk with another thunder!" You shouted, your eyes turning to glare at the man as he watched his muk get thundered, again, and instantly fainting him, causing the man to growl underneath his breath.

"You wrench! Rattata, at least finish off this eevee! –"

"Quick attack!" you shouted, the raichu watching as the eevee's body moved throughout the dust cloud, and when the dust finally subsided the rattata had fainted, your eevee stopping beside the raichu, who grinned and congratulated your eevee by patting him a bit too roughly on his back.

"You little –"

"Don, use haze," you spoke calmly, the honchkrow smirking as he swooped down, sending the deck into a thick, icy mist. "… Follow up with a sucker punch. Faint that guy," you snorted, your voice dissipating throughout the haze as you saw a shadow swooping upon the silhouetted human, and you heard him cry out in shock and pain, your feet leaping off of the crate and hitting the ground. Within the haze, you noticed Spirit running towards you, and you held out your arms, letting the shiny eevee jump into your chest, the two of you rubbing cheeks until the haze began to dissipate, and you spotted that Don had perched himself upon the crate you had been standing on, before.

You let out a deep, tired sigh, rubbing your sore eyes before turning your gaze to the sailor who had been watching the entire spectacle. His eyes were wide in shock, with his cigarette barely hanging out of his mouth, before he noticed your gaze and quickly began to cough into his hand. "Not going to help a defenseless little kid, eh?" you smirked at him, and he couldn't help but chuckle at your comment.

"You look like you could handle yourself. Would have used my machop if things got hairy," he exclaimed, but you shrugged your shoulders at him and set Spirit on the ground, smiling as you patted the raichu on the head for a job well done.

"What's going on here?!" you could hear Lt. Surge holler from one of the doors leading out onto the deck, and as he rushed your way the raichu slipped out of your arms and ran towards the man, giving him a tiny jolt to stop the man from running off of the desk and into the water. "Hey! –"

"Nothing much. A potential kidnapping, I gather," you responded casually, Don flapping his wings and landing on your shoulder, giving the lieutenant an intimidating look as you pointed to the Rocket man currently passed out on the ground. "By that guy, and his accomplice is in the water," you huffed, pointing to the railing where the guy had been pushed off.

"Ah… geeze kid," Surge grumbled underneath his breath before turning his attention to the sailor off to the side, "and you **did not help her!?** "

"The kid looked like she could handle herself. Plus, your raichu was in the battle so… I didn't think it was a problem," he shrugged his shoulders, but noticing the grimacing glare in the man's eyes, he quickly placed his cigarette on the ground and squashed the lit end with the heel of his foot. "I-I'll get back to work," he chuckled, nervously, and you gave the man a snarky wave, watching him run off, before turning your attention back to the blonde haired, irritated man.

"… It looks like there are traitors in your little team," you decided to comment, a huff leaving the man's breath as he watched the sailor go, before turning his attention back to you. "For some reason… this Josh guy wanted to kidnap me, ordered by someone else."

"You know, how? –"

"Overheard his phone conversation in the hallway," you huffed, "which is why I went to you, actually."

"Kid, you should have just told me –"

"And make you worry? I'd rather just handle this all in one get go," you shrugged, scratching the back of your neck, "but, well… I-I don't have any information beyond that, so, yeah."

"Okay, okay," he sighed, nodding his head as he made his way towards you, and you flinched as he suddenly grabbed you in a tight hug. "Idiot. You're just like him, a reckless idiot."

You couldn't help but let a light smile appear on your face, and you reached around, gripping the man in a light hug as he hugged you back. You don't know if you should be happy that you're 'like him' or not. Like your grandfather, you guess? That's… so weird to hear, if you're going to be honest with yourself.

"Come on. I'll have you sit with us in the control room while I have someone handle the… traitors. Did the guy drown? –"

"I don't think so, but if you want me to identify him then I will," you told the man, causing him to nod in response.

"Good… good… Let's go," he told both you and the pokemon, and you smiled lightly as Rai was beaming happily for his easy victory, while you picked Spirit up, who was not in the mood to send him back into his pokeball. Don had settled on your shoulder comfortably, not intending to leave, and you know your pokemon are worried about you.

In fact, you were also scared, but you just didn't let your fear get to your head, this time.

! #$%^&*()

You don't know how long you sat there, quietly in the corner of the control room, your eyes always watching the world around you from behind your black paperboy cap, staring blankly as everything hustled and bustled around you, trying to get their jobs done. You could tell Lt. Surge wasn't very happy to find out that those grunts were trying to kidnap you, and upon further investigation it was discovered that it wasn't by 'the Boss', but some other secretive thuggish group that the man didn't make very clear, but you could tell he was mad. Either way, you could tell the man was beyond simply pissed, and he had let the two grunts have it the moment he figured out where the water logged guy was, and brought him back on board.

You weren't allowed to see or be told what happened to them, but you can only assume they're either dead now, their bodies sunk to the bottom of the harbor, or maybe they're still on the ship somewhere, being interrogated.

Still… you felt it odd that they even cared. Not just Surge, not just Marko, but **everyone** seemed to care. All employees that had been roaming the island were immediately called back to the ship, and the cargo ship had set sail thirty minutes earlier then it needed to. It was strange to you that, all of the sudden, every single Rocket seemed to have their eye on you. As if… if you vanished, then **they** would be in trouble, for some reason, and perhaps suffer the same fate as those two traitors. Agent Lina insisted that you're supervised at all times, now. You had to be escorted around the ship, and only those she trusted would be watching you, from now on. The idea of being watched was maddening. You were starting to think that perhaps you should run, just to get as far away from these guys as possible.

After all, why would Team Rocket care about a kid anyways? Why would anyone else care about a kid? What are you to them? Too many questions, but not enough answers.

And… still… you feel helpless.

You should have left when you had the chance.

You kept Don and Spirit in their pokeballs from now on, considering that the ship had set sailed and the ship was, once again, filled with all sorts of people running about, trying to get their jobs done. But… you wanted to hold Spirit to your chest like a stuffed pokemon, brushing your skin through his fur as you tried to find some sort of comfort in your confrontation.

You could have been kidnapped or worse, and this time, those guys didn't seem to be involved in your parents' death. They just… wanted you… for some reason, and why? Those thoughts scare you to no end.

You could only sigh in defeat as you sat in your lone chair, watching with bored eyes as everyone else ran about, doing this and that, while you sat there doing absolutely nothing. You wanted to cry, but you didn't. You wanted to scream and shout in agitation, but you didn't. The world seemed so confusing and complicated, now.

Just how many people are after you anyways? Why must you keep looking over your shoulder like this?

You didn't lie to Lina, though. You were being truthful when you stated that you're becoming far too used to the idea of being kidnapped, or worse, and that thought… terrifies you. That from now on, even as you look over your shoulder, you can never stop living in some sort of fear. There will always be them and you, your enemies and yourself. The real question is: who can you trust? **Can** you trust anyone?

You wish that you weren't helpless… and a freak. You wish you could be normal, and live a normal life… but… if you had… you wouldn't be you. Not really. You'd be a naïve little brat who thinks they know everything, but they don't. Not really.

You could barely recall the last time you even celebrated your birthday. When you actually lived a normal life. Those memories are becoming more and more distant, and… you… don't want to let those memories go, but you have a feeling they will disappear, over time. Gradually… without you realizing it… and the fear of letting go and accepting this horrible fate of yours is frightening, to you.

But luckily for you, a particular someone, dressed like a Rocket, with the infamous red 'R' upon their breast pocket, walked in, an obvious air of authority about them as they walked up to the captain of the ship to speak with him. Their dark brunette hair was bland and normal, but… when the tall figure, almost the Surge's height, did turn around, and your eyes connected, your little, crystal blue eyes couldn't help but widen as somber teal green eyes stared back at you.

The two of you stared at each other, as if you both weren't sure if this was a hallucination or not, until… he began to walk towards you, cautiously, and stood a couple of feet from your chair, looking down upon you. "V-vi? Are you Vi? –"

"Rickie!" you exclaimed a bit too enthusiastically, suddenly leaping off of your chair and into the man's arms, and the grin that appeared on his face as he pulled you into a tight hug could only make you giddy with glee. "I should have suspected if Marko's here, then you are too!"

"The boy followed me here," the young man snorted in response, but he held you up in his arms, propping your tiny from against his hip, and he began to glare dangerously at you. "But… why are you here? You shouldn't be here. I thought you disappeared after your mum died –…" He couldn't help but pause as he saw tears starting to form in your eyes, and he sighed simply, holding you out at arm's length and gently placing you back down in your chair. "Something happen?"

"I guess… the two of us are similar now," you smiled meekly, turning away from him and staring down at the floor. "We both lost our parents, though I lost mine a bit later than your."

"… Shit," he sneered, glaring at the crew for a moment before quickly turning back to you and attempting to lighten the anger that was prominent in his gaze. "Seriously? Do you know who killed your father then?"

"An… aura user. Same one that killed mum," you pouted, quickly shaking your head and letting a snort leave your breath, "but that's not important. So," you managed to give your most famous mischievous grins at the man, obviously masking your discomfort on the previous topic, "you're a Rocket now? If so, where are the others?"

"Except for Mark, everyone else is back in Goldenrod… or living their own lives –"

"Why does Marko use Frank's name?" you had to ask, and the man sighed, scratching the back of his neck and shaking his head in your general direction.

"Frank… died, shortly before he decided to join the team –"

"Were you the recruiter?" you asked, and the man rolled his eyes and let out a huff.

"You're asking too much, and by the way, Mark joined on his own accord. After he overheard of how much money he could get out of this in a short amount of time, and after we ran into each other when I was in the city, he joined. Not my fault if he's an idiot."

"Right… right," you smiled meekly in response, and he gave you an irritated look before sighing deeply to himself, glancing at the crew and noticing that, now, the captain was glaring in his general direction, as if he was posing some sort of threat.

"… I'm guessing you're the kid everyone is talking about, eh?" he smirked, causing you to pout and shake your head at him.

"Crap. I-I didn't think I attracted so much attention."

"You did, kid, but hey, if you want to get away from this boring control room I was on my way to the cafeteria. Want to join?"

"… I'll ask," you smiled lightly at the thought, jumping out of your seat as you rushed over to Surge, and gripped his pant leg, tugging on his pants to get his attention. "A-ah… I was wondering if I can go to the cafeteria with the Rocket there," you pointed to Rickie, and the man gave the boy a glare before turning back to you, giving you a curious look.

"You know the guy?"

"Y-yes. Yes sir –"

"Then I won't stop you, but come back in… two hours. You have two hours to report back here," he told you and you nodded your head, letting go of the man as you rushed over to Rickie, looking up at him with a happy smile on your face.

"Okay. Let's go."

"Sure thing, kiddo," the agent smirked in response, but you noticed Surge and Rickie exchanged serious glares before he ushered you away from the room, your eyes glancing at Surge curiously, and wondering why Lt. Surge doesn't seem to trust your old friend at all.

)(*&^%$# !

 **A/N: Ah hah! An old friend has entered the story, as well as a bit of action. Pokemon battles are honestly hard to write, but hey this is the pokemon world. There has to be some action, and I was glad that we finally got to something interesting. I don't know if the 'Josh' guy will linger in the story or not. We'll just have to wait and see.**

 **Happy Thanksgiving! I'm going to try to post another chapter or two, but I'm not going to make any promises. On Friday, I'm going to be gone all day, so if I don't post something else today then it'll have to be later. Either way, I'm glad that you guys are still reading this story. COMMENT if you'd like, and I'll see you later!**


	15. CH14: Revenge or Forgiveness

It didn't take you long to notice that the other Rockets seemed to shy away from Rickie, as if he were a dirty splotch on an otherwise colorful clothe. Even the current agent in charge of this mission, and the cargo ship in general, Lina, barely gave Rickie a glance, and only questioned him when she realized you were contently following him around, like a little duckling. Yet, when Rickie gave his usual, stern response, she quickly turned away, not even giving you two a second thought.

The fear was there, but you honestly didn't understand why.

Rickie… or rather Cedric, was the founder of the Goldie Boys gang in Goldenrod City. A boys only gang… until you showed up and muddled it all up. You still wonder if that little group is still there, wreaking havoc on the citizens of Goldenrod. It's not like they did anything major, and there was always a good reason for their antics, but… first… Marko is here. Now Rickie? And now… you find out Frank had died, at some point…

You wonder who else died when your back was turned.

The two of you sat in silence in the cafeteria, and you noticed with a few sideways glances that other groups of people had sat way from the two of you, making a wide berth away from the table… or rather Rickie. "So… Rickie," you began, your eyes glancing at your food before turning back to the much older boy, more likely a young man now, sitting across from you at the table, "why is everyone afraid of you?"

"Afraid?... Always the perceptive one," he smiled meekly at you, but continued to eat his food as if you hadn't asked him the question, and you gave him a pout, going back to picking at your food, not feeling entirely hungry, right now. "… I'm an assassin for hire," he admitted, your eyes staring at him with wide eyes as he sighed and looked away from your overwhelming gaze. "Don't… judge me kid. I need to make a living, 'kay?"

"Yeah, but… killing people for no reason? –"

"There are reasons, but I just don't question why –"

"Killing **anything** for **any** reason is a horrible thought –"

"And I should care?" he huffed, picking up his cup of coffee and taking a deep gulp, enjoying the bitter taste before turning his attention back to you. "You don't know me –"

"I thought I did. Perhaps I assumed too much from you," you huffed, turning away and glaring across the room, at a nearby dirty wall, but after a moment you sighed and slowly turned back to the man who was currently eating his food, a pout forming on your face, causing him to glance over at you. "I-I mean… just… considering I have been chased across the Johto region by a bunch of assassins, why shouldn't I be weary of the idea of one of my friends being one? I mean… don't you lose a piece of yourself every time you kill someone?" you couldn't help but ask, slowly looking away from the man as he began to glare over at you, a thoughtful look on your face as you continued somberly. "Honestly… revenge sounds very sweet, but whenever I think about ending another life I get sick to my stomach."

"I'm surviving, Vi. The pay is high, and no one wants to do it. Do you gripe over garbage men or morticians? –"

"Of course not… If I were to ask you to teach me –"

"Hell no," he huffed, your head slowly turning to see his eyes glaring into your own. "Look, you're a good kid. Don't dirty your hands because of a bunch of misfit idiots –"

"I'm alone too, now. Heck, any real hope I have right now is miniscule. At any moment, someone could come right through those doors and try to kill me," you grumbled, glaring back at him before your eyes somber, and he could see the worry and frustration flashing in your bright blue eyes. "… Can I be honest?"

"Yeah? Of course kid –"

"I'm scared shitless. I'm not just afraid of dying, but… what if someone else dies because of me?" you couldn't help but say, your eyes staring to tear up as you quickly looked away from him, intent on making sure he doesn't see you cry like a little baby. "I think, honestly… if other people have to die just so I can stay live, then my life isn't worth having at all. I-if I can't just live on my own and be able to defend myself, how in the world can I save other people? I'm just another weak little brat who is a burden to others… I get you don't care," you huffed, though you had purposely avoided staring back at him as you slumped your cheek into your hand and stared tiredly at the nearby blank wall. "You think about yourself and no one else. You just care about keeping yourself alive… That's why… no matter if you think I'm any good at this thief stuff or not, I-I cannot keep it up. I'm just going to be another casualty, another dumb idiot who throws themselves into a situation and ends up dead.

"That is my destiny… I can feel it, and I just can't stop being so… pathetic," you frowned, your eyes glaring at the wall as you pushed back the tears that wanted to fall down your face. Rickie couldn't help but notice your blue eyes flashing eerily darker, only for a split moment, and with a sigh he set down his drink and gave you a serious look.

"Violet… Stop avoiding me," he decided to say, sternly, and as your eyes glanced over at him he continued in a calmer tone of voice. "You're… not a selfish child. It's obvious, but let me tell you something," he told you, pausing for a moment to gather his thoughts before continuing. "it doesn't hurt to have people you care about. Perhaps the possibility of them dying is frightening, or worse, they betray you, but if someone extends their hand to you, then you might as well take it. If not, you'll end up cold, sad, and alone. No one will remember you, and no one will care.

"Do you honestly think your parents would want you to be so pitiful? I bet they'd wish you have a happy life, even if it'll be difficult, and perhaps you have to put a lot more effort into staying alive, but maybe it's for the best. Nothing is going to change, so… so, well… You have people out there willing to help. You shouldn't feel as if you're an obligation to them.

"Plus, I doubt, I truly doubt that their deaths is your fault –"

"B-but it is –"

"Is, isn't, your parents don't want you to think that way," he huffed, sitting back in his chair and picking up his drink once more. "They loved you enough to put their lives on the line. That's all that matters. Now, the real question is, what will you do about that? Are you planning on staying with a bunch of criminals or try to live a different life?" he decided to ask, staring at you with a curious look. "That's a decision only you can make."

"I-I know, just… being scared –"

"You have to fight through that… It's obvious Marko wants to help, and heck, I will too. You're more family to us then you give us credit for. You're like our overly obnoxious little sister," he smirked slyly at you, his smirk widening as a huff left your breath.

"Obnoxious, eh? Meanie –"

"And I'd rather not know what your father was up to, or even what you learned from him. If it keeps you alive then it's for the best… but if you don't want to kill someone, you don't have to. That's your own decision to make," he huffed, shaking your head before smiling in your general direction. "The money is good, kid. I can do a lot now. Yes, I feel guilty, but do you think I got where I am by being nice and sweet? That may work for a girl, but not for a boy."

"Wow… You're such an idiot," you snorted at him, but you gave him a smirk and shook your head at him. "The more you kill, the more it'll weigh on your conscious. Just… you're right, I guess. Revenge is a decision only I can make," you huffed, glaring at the wall, "but then again, they say that it's best to keep your friends close, but your enemies closer."

"And you're pretty good at playing the sly card, so you could probably lure people into a false sense of security," he smirked deviously at you, "like you're doing right now."

"You saying I'm faking? –"

"You're after something from me. The real question is what," he huffed, and you pouted at him, shaking your head, before sighing deeply and slowly looking back at him.

"Yeah… I-I guess you're right –"

"Then what is it? –"

"If you won't teach me how to kill, then teach me how to defend myself," you glared at him seriously, "cause, well… I-I can depend on my pokemon, but that'll only take me so far. I can sneak away, but any big ass guy is going to pound me into the ground in an instant. I can ask a number of people, sure, but… you're the only person who gets why I need to learn, you know? You're not the type to go easy on me, kid or no kid," you huffed, a sly smile appearing on his face as he sat back in his seat.

"Sure, I guess, and Marko is a wimp… but I'll have to think about that proposal –"

"You don't have anything to do, I bet, until we dock. Plus, if you don't, I'll do it myself," you huffed, suddenly standing to your feet, noticing you had left your food mainly untouched, but you didn't care as you picked up the tray into your tiny hands. "You know how stubborn I get. So, the choice is yours," you snorted, suddenly leaving the man as you rushed across the cafeteria, avoiding the tables and people, throwing out everything on your tray, except for your cup of orange juice, and leaving the man in his chair.

You just… you know Rickie can see right through you. You just hate having to explain things. If you were a telepathic, you'd just communicate through minds. That'd make your life easier, that's for sure.

! #$%^&*()

 _You felt cold… freezing… your eyes looking around and seeing nothing but a darkened haze._

 _As your eyes stared down… you saw mucky blood caking your hands, and your eyes widened as you looked up and saw a figure on the ground._

" _Mum! Mum!" you shouted, your knees pushing off of the ground and you ran towards your mother._

 _But… with your outstretched hand… she moved further and further away from your fingertips, and you shouted as tears fell down your face while you felt the world growing colder around you._

 _A gun shot caused you to freeze in place, your eyes looking upward to see a person being thrown off of a tall cliff. Your hands were cut and scraped as you tried to move forward. "Daddy! –"_

 _You gasped, your eyes staring down in shock as a long, glistening silver blade was embedded into your chest, your head turning as you coughed and spat out blood onto your chest. A pair of rough, bulky hands grabbed hold of your collar, as your trembling blue eyes staring down into bright, dark glistening green eyes. Your eyes widening in fright as a sinister grin appeared on the man's face, until his hand swung you to the side and threw you onto the ground._

Your body fell onto the floor with a 'thud', causing you to snap your eyes open and let in a deep, necessary breath. You were shaking, covering in sweat, but as your eyes blinked and you began to reorient yourself to the dark room around you, you realized you were just… dreaming.

Yes… it was all a dream…

Or rather, a nightmare.

You felt a warm, fuzzy weight upon your chest, your hands reaching upward to grip Spirit around his fluffy figure. You ran your hands through his gray fur, your cheek nuzzling against his body, and little whimpers left your breath as you closed your eyes, tightly, not only enjoying the warmth against your own body, but the fact that your eevee was here to comfort you… like he always did.

You could only sigh in response, letting your body float back to the weariness you felt when you first stepped into the tiny cabin room last night. Night after night, you wake up to a nightmare, or to a dream that's just as scary as a nightmare, and stay up for an hour or two staring up at the wall, contemplating everything, or giving up on sleep and staying up until morning. Dark circles now inhabit the skin underneath your face, and as you glanced around the room, your clarity returning, you noticed you had woken up Don as well, his dark red eyes glistening in the darkness, staring right at you until you made contact with his own, and he looked away, flapping his wings and letting the loose feathers flutter before nuzzling into the blanket he had placed as a temporary nest, returning to his much needed sleep.

"Ok… okay, I'm okay, Spirit," you smiled meekly to your eevee, the fluffy fur ball nuzzling against your cheek before jumping off of your body, letting you shift out of the uncomfortable position you were in on the floor and slumping back into the single sized bed. You closed your eyes, your head in your pillow as you tried to get back to sleep, but…

The longer you slumped in one position, turning into another position and careful not to accidently kick the eevee off of your bed, you realized that tonight is one of those nights that you cannot sleep.

There's no point in trying, but… should you leave or stay?

"… I'm going out, Don," you told the honchkrow, who only grumbled underneath his breath, making you smirk at his irritated coo. You know that Spirit wouldn't get back to sleep unless you did, and besides, even if he's young like you, he can still put up a good fight if something were to happen.

So, slowly, in the darkness, you slipped on some extra warm clothes, a coat for good measure, and you slipped your room key into your pocket, Spirit's pokeball in the other, and after pulling your boots onto your feet and grabbing your bag, you motioned for Spirit to follow you out of the room. Once he was out the door you gently closed the door behind you, the two of you tiptoeing down the hallway, as to not wake up anyone else by accident. You made your way to a row of lights that were turned on at all hours, a content smile appearing on your face as your eevee followed you to a door, which led out to the deck.

Now, there are always adults walking about at all hours, but certainly less in the middle of the night. The night staff mainly consisted of sailors keeping watch over the seas, and most of them were in the control room. So, unless you're unlucky, you can usually sneak about and find a place for yourself.

Tonight, the waters looked calm, and the night sky beautiful, so you crept onto the deck of the ship, making your way to the back, and slumping down onto the ground, staring at the crates that hid you from the view of the doors. "… Dreaming about the parents again," Spirit decided to say, and you nodded your head in response before a deep, tired sigh left your breath.

"… Maybe you'll evolve into an espeon. You seem to be able to read my mind a lot," you huffed at him, but the eevee shrugged his shoulders before giving you a light smirk in return.

"I don't think it's anything psychic. Just… I care about you, you care about me, and sometimes… I just **know** what you're thinking. Maybe, because, we've been together for too long," he suggested, slumping into your lap as you slumped your head against a nearby crate, sighs leaving both of your breaths as his eyes began to look up at the sky above. "… Tonight is beautiful."

"I certainly is," you smiled lightly in return, letting your eyes close as you felt the salty air chilling your cheeks, a nice comfort to the sweaty awakening you endured just a moment ago. "… Do you think… I can ever get over my nightmares?"

"With time, but not right away. Just get used to being woken up by your own thoughts and worries," he decided to say in a groggy tone of voice, and you couldn't help but pout at his words, knowing it was true, but you didn't want to mentally admit that. "So… First, Marko. Now Rickie. Who'll be next?"

"… I wonder if the Goldie Boys are still running around the city… I guess little street gangs **can** turn kids into criminals," you pouted, opening your eyes and slowly staring up at the sky, letting a tired sigh leave your breath as you shook your head. "Just… how much did dad know? He knew exactly what to teach me, but… was he really protecting me or was he just playing dumb?"

"Dad and mum loved you. They wanted to keep you safe, Violet. Maybe Silver realized that he couldn't keep you from the truth anymore. So, he only gave you a little taste of the truth."

"Hmm… throwing knives, unlocking doors, and using pokemon to battle… those… aren't skills a father usually teaches a child, right? I mean… I guess pokemon battling. I have a knack for it, but t-to bottle up my emotions and stuff. That's not normal, is it? To tell your kid the world is a cruel and unforgiving place, and you need to use all you got to survive."

"Well, didn't Auntie Blue say similar things?"

"Right," you couldn't help but smirk at the thought. "But she also stated that the thing that separates us from the worst of the worst is our moral compass. That… killing is the first step into being cruel and unforgiving. That I need to keep what I hold dear close to me. Revenge… I-I doubt even auntie would approve of it, but then again, if she only knew what happened, what would she do?"

"Come back to Johto and kill that bastard that killed your father, probably," Spirit huffed at the idea before glancing up at you and gently licking your fingers, your head glancing down at him as he nipped at your thumb, and you smirked, lifting up your hand and running your hand through his soft, unique gray fur. "But… she has more responsibilities, now. She has her own kid to watch over."

"R-right… and… being a burden on them wouldn't amount to anything," you sighed deeply, shaking your head and glancing up at the stars in the sky, twinkling brightly in a way you could only see if you're far away from the lights and sounds of the city, living in the woods or sleeping on mountaintops. "… I just don't see myself as much of a killer."

"You shouldn't," you heard Spirit snort, but as he noticed your unimpressed gaze he shook his head and turned in your lap, staring up at the sky as your gaze looked upon the sky as well. "… Think about it this way. At some point, everyone has to make their own choices. Everyone has to break and bend the rules. Nothing is perfect, and if it were, what would be the point? The world is great because everything can think for itself. Everyone is unique and has does their own things, for their own reasons. So… if you have to kill, then kill, but don't second guess yourself when the time comes.

"It's like stealing or sneaking out of a police station. Did you stutter? Second guess your actions? No? Then don't do it now. If you're going to kill, kill. If you won't, then don't. Simple as that," Spirit huffed, but you pouted and glanced down at your eevee.

"What would you do, then? –"

"Simple. If you tell me to kill, I'll kill. To battle, battle. But, I won't kill unless my life is threatened, or the life of you or anyone else I care for is threatened. That's the only times… alright?" Spirit snorted, but you smiled meekly and nodded your head.

"R-right… It's simpler then I give it credit for."

"Right… you're just thinking too much. Stop… thinking, though I know that's not something you humans can easily do."

"Shut up, man."

"You first."

The two of you smirked slyly to each other, until a deep, tired sigh left both of your breaths. You cannot help but feel nervous about this, unsure about all this decision making you have to do, but… then again… Spirit is right. You're giving this too much thought. If the time comes, then it'll come, and if not, you shouldn't worry about it.

Right… don't worry…

But it's easier said than done. That's for sure.

)(*&^%$# !

 **A/N: HEY GUYS! I know I said I'd post sooner, and it's been almost a month now, but I lost interest in pokemon for a bit, thinking about starting a different fanfic in a different genre, but I didn't really decide to start one particular story, so that didn't happen. But regardless, I noticed it's almost been a month, so I decided to post a new chapter! Hopefully I can remember to post some more chapters, but think of this one as a chapter for the Holidays!**

 **And before I forget, the** _ **long sentences italics**_ **are dream sequences. I figure it's self-explanatory, but I might as well clarify it.**


	16. CH15: Throwing Practice

**A/N: Hey guys! Happy Star Wars weekend! This is the first time I saw Star Wars the weekend it was in the theaters, and I cannot but be delightfully excited!**

 **But either way, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Okay, yeah, the kid is 7 years old, but I figured the child of a thief would know a thing or two around weapons and such. Maybe not realistic, but this is the pokemon world we're in, and if a pokemon trainer can start their journey at 10 years old then why not have a 7 year old know how to throw knives and other things. Anyways, I'm still trying to develop Viola's character, and honestly I'm still developing the characters of the others around her. I don't know if I'll keep some of the OCs I've placed in the story, mainly the Rocket ones, but there's one or two that'll turn up later. I'm just not sure if I'll have, say, Lina, Jerry, or Fred in the story after this part. Maybe… maybe not? I'll see where it all goes. After all, it's easier to work with characters you've already established instead of trying to make up new ones, I guess. But I hope you guys ENJOY the chapter, and please COMMENT if you like the story or not. No one has so far, so it'd be nice to have some feedback. All I do is do a quick look over after I wrote the chapter, maybe weeks beforehand, before posting the chapter, so if there's some inconsistences or I'm repeating myself, I'd like to be aware of that.**

 **That's all the announcements I have, and have a Happy Holidays, a Merry Christmas, and a great weekend! [just in case I don't post another chapter before Christmas ^^']**

! #$%^&*()

"Yiah!... Hi… yah!... Yaigh!" you yelled, the sharp steel leaving your fingers and flying through the air, slicing through the chilling wind and stabbing into a wooden crate, missing the 'S' and barely hitting the '.'.

An annoyed growl left your breath as you walked over to the crate, gently grabbing the hilt of your throwing knives before swiftly pulling them free, picking up the two stray knives on the ground and bringing the bundle with you as you walked back to your spot several feet away.

Now that the ship had set sailed, and the days became longer and longer, everyone on board the ship had to preoccupy themselves somehow. Now that you were stuck, with nothing else to do anymore, no more thoughts that cluttered your mind and made you worry, you encouraged yourself to wake up every morning, before dawn, before most of the others would be waking up, to train.

If you hadn't woken up already.

Doing nothing for days on end was making you antsy, and you knew it's only a matter of time you start snapping at people, for no reason, making this entire trip worse for you. You need to stay quiet, out of the way. A person among a sea of many.

But… you were in the middle of the oceans, making your way back to a region that was much too close to Johto. You were starting to think ditching this shipping vessel and forgetting about this supposed relative of yours would do you some good.

Yet, instead of dwelling too much on a future you were unsure of, you decided that you might as well do something with yourself, and honing your skills would probably be the best option.

Your father wasn't a dumb man. He taught you many things, first for fun, but after your mother's death it was a necessity to learn a particular trade of skills. Stealth, defense, fighting tactics, and all sorts of things. Who knows if your pokemon will be with you? You could end up all on your own, surviving on your own knowledge and your own wits. You found it amusing that there are books out there on cheating the system, from picking locks to making tiny smoke bombs, but then again it's an amateur book, your father would tell you, and then state, once you learned all you can from the book he'll show you more.

Well… sadly, that expertise he apparently had won't be taught to you, but you can, at the very least, figure out what you're best at.

You were like your father, in a lot of ways. You weren't built like a tank, but you weren't too slim and slender like your mother was, either. You are a very good climber, building up your upper body strength, but your father insisted that you learn how to run. To be quick on your feet. Learn how to tiptoe your way out of a suspicious situation, before things got bad.

He let you try a few weapons, but a gun was something he never let you touch. Why? Well… guns kill in an instant, without any real skill behind them. If you want to use a weapon, you better be an expert at it, instead of wielding items that will only get in your way. So, you know knives, how to use knives, how to sharpen them or keep them dull. He bought you fifteen throwing knives, once, and told you to start training with those, but now there are only thirteen… but that's still a large amount, considering you tend to lose things rather quickly.

But, then there was another. The bow and arrow. You weren't very strong in your shoulders, and pulling back the string was a lot of effort, without any real rewards. You could never get the arrow far enough to hit your intended target. But… like throwing knives, the bow and arrow is another long distance weapon, which would be a good thing to learn. Yet, the last time you tried was a couple of years ago, long before your parents' deaths ever became a reality.

So, knives are really the only thing you know how to use, with a tad of skill. You recall days you and your father would be out in the middle of the woods, waiting patiently for something, or merely taking a break. He'd teach you some hand-to-hand combat skills, but only defense. Always defense.

Because a child your size could never think about taking down a grown man like him. You would have to grow up, at least a few more feet, before that can ever become a reality for you, but… you know where to kick, and apparently you have a very powerful kick.

Half of the knives you had in your hands were placed on the ground, the other half slipping into your bottomless Rocket grunt pocket, while one lone knife was in your hand. Once again, you slow aimed, moving your arm backward before letting out a strained yell, the knife leaving your fingertips, spinning through the air, and cutting into the crate, in between an 'o' on the crate.

" _You're getting better,"_ you heard Don say as he swooped down, landing on a perch somewhere behind your head, out of the way in case you accidently let go of the knife a bit too early, or too late, _"but not quite there yet."_

" _I know,"_ you huffed, your eyes glancing, for a moment, at Spirit's small gray body as he curled up in your open bag, wrapped in your coat you had taken off a moment ago. _"I'm working on it."_

" _Perhaps you should do some of those human exercises to bulk up your muscles,"_ Don suggested, but you shrugged your shoulders as you took another knife out of your pocket, holding your left hand out as you aimed for the crate, your eyes studying to hit the 'S' this time, and hopefully you'll hit it, this time.

" _I probably should, but right now I'm trying to figure out what I need to improve on. My aim or my strength,"_ you stated bluntly, moving your arm back before swiftly swinging your arm forward, your fingers letting go of the knife as it spun through the air, the blade slamming into the crate, but it didn't hit the 'S', again, causing you to huff in annoyance as you reached into your pocket for another knife.

" _Use your right hand, this time,"_ Don instructed you with a snort. _"You've been using your left hand too often. You need to train your right hand too."_

" _If I use my right hand then I'll surely miss… but your call,"_ you shrugged, placing the knife into your right hand as you slowly took aim, for the 'o' this time, and you carefully moved your arm back, your eyes narrowed on your target, and you let go of the knife, watching the blade spin through the air and slicing through the icy morning air. You flinched as the knife didn't even hit the crate, missing the wooden object completely, and instead slammed into the wooden floorboard, a snort leaving Spirit's breath while you could only huff in response. _"Crap."_

" _Train more,"_ Don stated simply, flapping his wings and quickly getting away from your right hand, knowing you could easily miss with that hand, and flying closer to where Spirit was situated, knowing that you wouldn't dare hit the two of them, if they were close together.

Spirit knows that, eventually, he'll have to start training as well, but for now he's going to simply enjoy watching you fail, his blue eyes watching as the knives flew through the air, slicing into crates, and occasionally, hitting the floor, or hitting a crate and falling down into the ground. Even he has noticed that you'll hit your object more than the blade missing the spin and falling to the ground, but more training is needed… like him. He certainly needs more training if he can even think about protecting you, in the same way Icy can, or could, protect his master.

)(*&^%$# !

"What are you doing?" you heard a familiar voice ask, and an irritated huff left your breath as you glared at the crate you aimed at, cuts and scrapes now lining the wooden surface, and after you paused for a moment you swung your arm back and let go of your throwing knife, watching as it spun through the air before slicing into the wood, not quite hitting your target.

You grumbled underneath your breath that you missed, yet again, before turning to the taller guy and glaring over at him. "Practicing."

"Practicing… why? –"

"Isn't the reason clear?" you raised an eyebrow at him, glaring in his general direction, but with a tired huff you walked over to the crate, prying out the knives you happened to embed into the wood, while a third of the knives laid on the ground. You definitely need to practice more with your right hand. "… I'm bored, 'kay? And being stuck on a boat for days on end is making me antsy. I'm not sitting by, acting all sweet and naïve, for another gods damn minute."

"Alright, alright fine, fine," Marko held up his hands at your angry response, his hands shifting into his pockets as he watched you picking up your throwing knives, bundling them into your hands, shoving some into your pockets as you walked back to your position. Don flapped his wings from atop a high perch before swooping down to land on your shoulder in a graceful manner, giving the older boy a stern glowing red look. "Just… I didn't realize you knew how to throw."

"A recently honed skill. Dad insisted that I know _something~_ , but I certainly don't know everything," you decided to say as you dropped a few of the knives onto the ground, leaving your hands free as you reached into your pocket, fishing out one of the knives, and placing the knife into your right hand. "Told me I needed to learn to defend myself somehow."

"I see… Though, I have to wonder why –"

"Cause I insisted on following him, alright? Whatever crap he was involved in, he at least wanted me to be able to handle myself, until he got there, at least… You know," you smiled meekly as you took aim, pausing for a moment as you slowly moved your arm back, before letting go of the knife and waiting till it landed on the crate, falling to the ground, causing you to huff as you went back to fishing out another knife from your pocket. "I wasn't that naïve, at least… I hope I wasn't. It seemed to me that an inevitable kidnapping was sure to happen… but I never expected my parents to be killed because of me," you decided to say as you grew quiet once more, swinging your arm back before pausing for a moment, narrowing your eyes at the crate, before swinging your arm forward and watching the knife spin through the air, slicing through the chilling morning air.

Marko watched with a curious interest as the knife hit the crate, embedding itself into the wooden object, but as he heard you 'tisk' in annoyance, he figured you had missed the spot you had been aiming for, but figured you were waiting for him to express his response to your rather disturbing statement. "That… is strange to hear. I-I mean, why would you ever think that?"

"Well… dad was kidnapped when he was, what, two? Auntie told me all about that. That's kind of why she lived so close to us in the first place. Keeping an eye on each other, and such. She once told me," you sighed to yourself as you fished out another knife, your eyes staring down at the sharp blade glistening in the sunlight's bright rays, "that while that asshole of a guy was very particular about finding the right ages of children to train under his command, he wanted my father for a particular reason. That reason? Even she doesn't know, and I wonder if my father ever cared to fully figure it out."

"Reason? If I may ask, what sort of reason?" Marko had to ask, and with a sigh you slowly let your knife fall back into your pocket as you closed your eyes, your hand shifting in your pocket as you pondered the age old question you continue to ask yourself, to this day.

"… Something about… his birth. His blood. His pedigree. My dad was born to a family with a very dark past, and heck, probably present. I… Well… honestly, no one ever really told me. No matter who I asked, how I phrased it, no one would give me a clue. It's irritating," you huffed, turning your head to glance over at the young man with a frown lining your face. "It's not like I can't connect the dots. It's obvious to me that, that… I come from a family of murderers and criminals," you frowned, slowly sinking down onto the ground and sighing deeply to yourself. "I mean, come on! My own father shows me the ins and outs of sneaking about, stealing with ease, and heck, even where to hit someone to incapacitate them, or outright kill them."

"Violet –"

"A-and now there's some grandfather I've never met, always thought was dead, and all of the sudden he wants to meet me? A-and the worst part is that… that… It didn't take me long to figure out that my father's parents were probably mobsters. Probably? No. More like certainly," you pouted, your eyes slowly looking up to glare at Don, knowing he was one out of many who kept this known secret from you, that is, until Spirit suddenly jumped onto your lap, and you couldn't help but smile lightly at him as you ran your fingers through his thick and fluffy gray fur, knowing deep down he was trying to comfort you. But, honestly, you couldn't help but start to frown again as you stared down at him and sighed deeply to yourself. "… I put two and two together when I told daddy how much I liked to watch those mobster movies. He never approved of my tastes," you smirked lightly at the thought, but you couldn't help but glance over at Marko as he slowly sat down beside you, a sigh leaving his breath as he kept his eyes on the slashed and cut up crate, staring at the knife embedded into the wood before turning to look over at you.

"Your father may be a strict hard ass with a look that could kill, but he was honest and good to you and your mother. Plus, you have a relative that, after all this time, is going out of his way just to meet you. I get how painful that feels, to feel betrayed, to not know what's going on, but… people do stupid things, lie, to protect those they love. Who they care about… Just be glad that there are people out there that want to hold out their hands and help you. I certainly don't have that," he frowned, glaring his dark golden eyes at the blade, your eyes glancing over at him and noticing a somber bright yellow glow emitting from his gaze, though it wasn't very noticeable… unless you were looking for it.

"Don't be an idiot," you snorted, turning to look at the crate with a pout on your face. "You have people that care. Your siblings –"

"Younger siblings –"

"At least you **have** siblings, plus there's _la donna~_ " you smirked slyly, glancing over at him with a devious grin while he sighed and rolled his eyes at you.

"You know, if nonna heard you calling her that, she'd hit you with a wooden spoon," Marko snorted in your direction, but he couldn't help but smirk at your reaction as you giggled delighted by his response, the two of you sighing deeply and glancing away from each other. "… Even if you don't have family, Vi, you still have friends. I mean… the Goldie Boys are like a second home to me. So, you know… if you really need to lean on others… I'm there for you. But then again, you're a stubborn kid who wants to do things _their way~_ , so do what you want."

"Thanks," you sighed to yourself, glancing at the crate for a moment and slowly fishing out a knife from your pocket, Marko's eyes glancing at the blade in your hand as you slowly took aim, bringing your arm back and flinging the throwing knife towards the crate.

You couldn't help but snort underneath your breath as your blade missed the crate, hitting the floor only a few inches away. Marko smirked slightly at your irritation, slowly picking up one of the knives on the ground, while you eyed him wearily as he aimed for the crate, letting the blade leave his fingertips and fly through the air.

You yelped as you moved your foot out of the way, the knife almost cutting your toe clean off as it slammed into the wooden floor.

"W-whoopie –"

"No more knives for you," you growled defensively, kicking the nearby knives around Marko towards you, and he shrugged, sighing as he watched you shift one knife from one hand to the other, testing the balance in your right hand as you slowly took aim, and let the knife fly through the air, towards the crate full of cuts and holes.

! #$%^&*()

 _la donna_ – [Italian] "the lady"

 _nonna_ – [Italian] "grandmother"


	17. CH16: Swift Withdrawal

**A/N: Merry Christmas guys! And Happy Holidays! I got a bit distracted over posting the next chapter, but once I was done with Christmas, and working on Christmas [for only 2hrs. It was ridiculous], and also playing my new Ultra Moon game, I felt the need to post the next chapter. We're reaching the end of the part one! Part two will be posted around the time I end this particular story, actually. I don't know if I'll create a new title or make it 'part one' and 'part two'. I'll think it over, and probably change it up towards the end of the last two or three chapters. I'll keep you guys posted.**

 **But either way, I'm thankful that you guys have been reading this story. It feels nice to be writing and posting my work again, instead of keeping my thoughts to myself. And there will be a second parter, but I don't know about a third part. We'll see how much I write for the second part to this 'beginning' OC story. I know the characters aren't completely fleshed out, and some chapters feel more like filler chapters, but I tried to keep the story moving forward and to include everything I felt was needed. There were parts that I wanted to include, like more interactions with Marko and Rickie for example, but there isn't going to be much after this chapter. Maybe in the second part, but not here.**

 **So yeah. As a Christmas gift here's another chapter! A bit belated, but that's okay. Maybe I can have everything finished by New Years, but maybe not. Currently I'm trying to put my life together. It's been rather dull lately since I graduated. So, if I don't post all the time into the new year that'll be why. Okay. So ENJOY this chapter and I hope you guys COMMENT if you have any questions or comments for me. [and I would have posted this sooner, but for some reason the website wouldn't let me post this chapter. So, I had to wait a day or two to post it. It was very annoying]**

! #$%^&*()

A deep grumble left your breath as you, once again, woke up in the middle of the night, your own anxiety and worries keeping you from getting any good sleep. You slowly shifted out of your bed, trying not to wake up Spirit, though you knew he was already awake, and you slipped on a warm coat and a pair of shoes to keep your feet warm. You grabbed your keys as you opened your door, letting the eevee walk out before you, before closing and locking the door behind you. You sighed, closing your eyes for a moment as you stood in the dimly lit hallway, glaring at your door in irritation, before barely giving Spirit a glance as you made your way down the long narrow hallway.

You couldn't wait to finally reach another port town. It's been ages since you've seen land. You're beginning to think you should have just walk about the town when you had first landed, but then again you were scared, at the time, and your own fears would have probably caused you to not board the ship after you left.

You had this feeling that something was wrong. Something just wasn't right around here, and you couldn't put your finger on it.

First off, you could tell that this Team Rocket seemed to have people who weren't fully dedicated to the group. In fact, you've heard various people whispering to each other, seemingly behind your back, about you. A girl with blue eyes and black hair, and sometimes more specifically then that. Now, it's a girl with brown hair… which is creepy, in your honest opinion.

You haven't been confronted, like when that grunt Josh showed up with one of his accomplices, to kidnap you, for no real reason, but you've been put on edge ever since. It also seems that Marko is seemingly too close, with Rickie casually, but still, looking and watching from a distance.

And even so… it feels like this Team Rocket wants to keep you around, for some reason. The only thing that hasn't kept you from stealing a stolen water pokemon and fleeing is what Lt. Surge told you. That someone, some guy, is waiting for you… who wants to see you… who may know you in some way.

But probably doesn't. Your grandfather probably just feels obligated to take you in, whoever he is.

That's the thing. How can you trust someone you don't even know? Your mother never spoke about him, only speaking about the one or two times they had met in the past, while your father refused to talk about his parents. His mother… your grandmother was a woman he never knew. He did clearly state that she died giving birth to him, but his father… Why did he despise him so much? Should you despise him as well?

You don't like to jump to conclusions, but your head is spinning and you couldn't help but worry.

Monsters are around every corner, and if you're not careful you'll be swallowed up along with them. You'll be their next victim, or worse. You'll end up like those monsters you fear… somehow…

You don't know why you had such a dream, about being chased and turning into one of them, but you have this nagging feeling that if you see this relative of yours, you'll end up just like the monsters you fear. The real question is, what do you fear? What is it that you are afraid of becoming?

As you walked into the nearby break room, you were surprised to notice that there was someone seated at the couch, a laptop on his lap, with his smooth dark brown hair a tad messy and bedridden, as if he couldn't sleep as well and came to the break room for the nice lighting and calming atmosphere. As the man's head turned to glance at you, you wondered if you should leave, but he smirked, a grin you haven't seen in a long while, before looking back to his laptop. "Couldn't sleep, kid?"

"Nightmares," you responded casually, Spirit walking over to the man as you walked into the kitchen area, grabbing a cup of water before walking to the couch, sitting down beside him and sighing deeply to yourself. "… Why are you up, Rickie? You should be asleep."

"Couldn't sleep either. Figured I should get some work done," he told you simply, the two of you sitting in silence as you sipped on your cup, letting your knees down so Spirit could jump up onto your lap to rest his head. The only sounds you could hear was the tapping of the keypad as he rapidly typed on the laptop, pausing for a moment from time to time, only to rapidly type some more.

"… W-what are you working on?" you had to ask, feeling the need to break the silence as he gave you a curious glance before looking back to his work and sighing deeply underneath his breath.

"Reports, mainly. I'm always reluctant on writing up my field reports. Unlike a lot of agents, and some grunts, I'm expected to write up my own reports, by myself. Considering I don't have a partner with me to share the workload."

"Is it difficult? –"

"It's not easy, but I've figured out how to write these stupid things rather quickly. The annoying part is having to recall every detail, and if I spent money, then on what. I doubt anyone really looks at these, unless to reference my actions and such. It's just… bothersome. So I tend to put these reports off till the very last minute. I need these turned in and sent to the Boss before we dock," he explained, a meek smile appearing on your face as you slowly slumped fully into the couch, a sigh leaving your breath as you stared off into the distance.

"… The Boss…" you mumbled, the man glancing over at you curiously as you mindlessly spoke about the first thought that came to your head. Your eyes tiredly stared at the far off wall as your mind began to gear up and start wondering about your inevitable future. "I… don't get it."

"Get what?" he decided to ask as his eyes were still on his computer screen, every so often typing, yet pausing, as he tried to engage with you in a conversation.

"Everyone around here acts like they know the guy, yet this organization seems so vast that I would think that's impossible. Like, I mean, it's like looking at a company, or even the Pokemon League. It's not like I know who the head guy is of those organizations, yet everyone here acts like they know this Boss guy. I mean, what is he like? Why should he have any respect at all?"

"Good question," he smirked lightly, slowly setting his laptop down on the coffee table, and propping his feet up on the small table as he stared off into the distance, lazily, as he thought about the right things to say, and what to leave out. "… I honestly believe, after being part of this group for a while, that a lot of teams you may come across, and even gangs, may be modeled by Team Rocket. Perhaps even some of the older ones. Team Rocket is like a bigger, wider reaching gang. While you may report to one guy or the next, there is always an end goal that everyone is reaching for.

"The Boss… at some point in time, you meet him. It seems to me that he likes to have a hand in everything that is going on in the team. Even I've been surprised when, instead of talking to my superior, I am suddenly giving a field report to the Boss, who is a region or two away, and having to explain the actions I took. When you are training at their training facility, you get to meet him around graduation day, but before then, there is always some informal meeting. You are brought to his office, wherever it may be, I hear it changes from time to time, and asked a rather simple set of questions: do you want to join Team Rocket and why?

"Honestly, the questions surprised me at first. I thought, like anyone else, that I was in some sort of trouble, but all it was is a set of questions, about myself, about my family, what brought me to this point. He could have had anyone else do the job. Anyone could ask a new recruit those questions, but no. It was he. I think… people admire him in the group for that. That he, at least, acts like he cares. I don't know if he does, but there's this overall respect for him that everyone seems to abide by.

"But rumors also circulate rather quickly. Even when I was being officially trained, I was confronted by two different extremes: either of how the Boss can make people 'disappear' or of grand rewards people can get if they do a good job. Apparently, you're either being sent to the Boss' office for a really big good thing or a very bad thing, and most may not even know what that is until they reach the office. Sometimes he's only checking up on you. It's… kind of nice, even if most are fearful. I just realized that the overall reach of Team Rocket is practically everywhere. It's encompassing, and I'm not surprised that there are people here who aren't fully on board with Team Rocket and their goals."

"Or they're obvious spies of one group or another," you decided to blurt out, Rickie giving you a curious glance as you glanced over at him and gave him a meek smile in return. "I mean… it's obvious that there are people here with other intentions, aren't there? Tell me, are you stupid and cannot see it?"

"Oh, I can tell. The real question is from where," he told you with a smirk on his face. "That's just what happens in big groups. If they have some sort of person from public authority, like an undercover cop, the team seems to have a way to deal with that. How they know? I don't know, but even those cops have to write reports to their superiors, and I bet that has something to do with figuring out who the undercover guys are. It's not like they're given special treatment, but they obviously have to work a bit harder to get what they want. Then, there are spies from other gangs, other teams, that you have to look out for. They are trickier to spot, with ulterior motives that can become damning to the team in times of crises, and I think those types of people need to be dealt with much more swiftly. It's one thing to change sides, but it's another to switch back to your old team, or to spy for them… I'm surprised you picked up on that," he smirked at you, but you frowned and glanced away from him, your eyes staring down at your eevee as you sighed deeply underneath your breath.

"… I'm not an idiot," you decided to say. "The Rockets whisper about me behind my back, and sometimes they don't have the best intentions. Sure, some just think that a kid wandering about is a liability, but others… they… I can tell that they either want me to stick around, for the team, or they want to kidnap me, for their own strange gains. I think that there is some sort of bounty on my head. That's the only conclusion I can come up with. I don't get why my profile has been thrown out there for everyone to see. I-it's just… scary," you sighed deeply, underneath your breath, but the man smiled lightly at your distress and nodded his head.

"It sucks to be noticed so much. I get that. For orphans like us, it's best to hide in the shadows and not get spotted by anyone. I've noticed that too," he told you calmly, yet with a serious tone in his voice. "There is no name attached, but I believe, for some reason, there are groups out there looking for a girl with black hair and blue eyes. Why? No clue, but considering what has brought you here, I can only conclude that they are looking for you. What I'm trying to figure out is **who** they work for, and **why** the people those thugs work for are trying to find a little, defenseless girl," he snorted underneath his breath, and you smiled meekly and glanced over at him.

"That's why nothing has happened, huh? No immediate actions. You're waiting to see what plays out," you had to say, and he nodded his head.

"Sorry kid. I know that puts you at a great risk, but sometimes it's quicker and easier to just watch people's movements and uncover some evidence before taking any initiatives. After all, that's how the coppers do it, when they're trying to compile evidence against us," he smirked at the thought, and you closed your eyes and suddenly slump your head against his arm, causing him to flinch at your sudden contact.

"I… I-I am so, so scared. I-I just don't know what's going to happen to me," you mumbled underneath your breath, and you felt the man shift, his arm slipping away from your head, but wrapping around your waist. He brought you closer to his side as you sighed deeply, breathing in that much needed oxygen as you groggily continued to talk. "I… c-cannot rely on anyone. N-not really. I just… cannot expect anyone to be on my side. Even you two, you… and Marko. I wonder… if I can…"

"Well… I cannot tell you that you should, but… I certainly don't want to see anything bad happen to you. After all, you're the only gal in the Goldie Boys, and I don't let my teammates get hurt and beaten up on my watch… If we, I, can find some way to help you out, I will… Don't worry about that," he decided to tell you, and you could feel his hand running through your shortened hairs, a meek smile appearing on your face, but you still couldn't help but worry about your fate. "… Marko and you are… strange kids, I must say. You both have abilities I just don't fully understand. It worries me how the two of you are always at some sort of risk.

"But then again… you can easily become valuable to the gang, so I never thought twice about letting you two stick around."

"You thought Marko is also a liability?" you had to ask, though you felt your mind slowly drifting to that much needed sleep you craved, and you could feel him let out a deep breath as he paused to gather his thoughts.

"… Yes. Whatever you call it, aura or whatever, it's… odd. I mean, we live in a world of pokemon so it shouldn't be strange to think that humans could also have pokemon-like abilities and tendencies, but whenever you two get worked up and angry… you both get these looks, and while Marko's is certainly not noticeable, yours certainly is."

"My eyes change color," you mumbled underneath your breath, and you could hear him sighing at your words.

"Y-yeah… it's… strange, and I can easily see why anyone would want to exploit that… whatever that is –"

"My daddy always told me that it's a family curse," you had to tell him, not feeling the need to keep anything from the older boy at the moment. "Not only does it bring unnecessary trouble, but… it's a curse that is passed down from one child to the next, one generation to the next. If I die, there will be another kid born that'll get this… curse, another casualty. A distant relative.

"Marko and I… w-we've talked about it. My daddy gave him some advice, but at the end of the day, we both have two distinct problems that cannot be solved by others. We can only deal with it ourselves, and… well… only I can understand everything. To know what to do, to train, to strengthen myself to become stronger. It's… hard. It's… an internal feeling I cannot describe, but I am a bit at ease that you care, and you're not afraid," you decided to tell him, and Rickie couldn't help but smirk lightly at your words.

"Afraid… certainly not. Not of you two. The real question is: why do others want you both so much? That's what confuses me," he had to snort underneath his breath, but eventually, you could hear his deep breathing, a sigh leaving his breath as he reached for his laptop, propping up his legs to get back to his work.

You let yourself be lulled to sleep by his deep breathing, Spirit's fur warm underneath your fingertips, and you let yourself fall back to sleep, even if you should go back to your room. You were just so tired, and being in the presence of someone that you know can protect you, that won't be of any harm, eased you back into the restless sleep that you needed to have. Because deep down, you know that you'll have to be on high alert.

You don't know what tomorrow will bring, or what the next days will bring, but rest was needed for you to have a clear head.

)(*&^%$# !

"Finally," you sighed to yourself, a bit relieved, as you saw what time it was on the clock.

You don't know how long you've been out at sea, but you're itching to step onto land and roam about. However, today is going to be a long an exhausting day for you, and you're honestly worried what today will bring.

Today, Surge made plans for you to meet up with your grandfather. How? You're not entirely sure, but Surge explained that it was either now or never. Whispers about a kid on board the cargo ship has been circling around, so early in the morning, before the ship even docks, and he wanted you ready to get going. At this point you had no choice but to trust the man, but… honestly, after everything, you personally doubt he'd betray you for money.

You hope.

There's a price on your head, if you're found alive. The police want you for $500, while there's this other gang group, which you don't know about, who wants you for $2,000. And then there's someone else, another underground organization, who wants the girl with black hair and blue eyes for a $3,500 reward.

Maybe Rickie was right about the eyes thing. That could be a reason why people are after you, but no one wants you dead. At least… that's what it seems. You're worried about today, but then again, you want to get off of this shipping vessel as quickly as possible.

Surge's scheme is supposed to be kept a secret, so you told no one… except for Marko. You know the guy. He wouldn't betray you, a kid who's lost, scared, and alone. Rickie, well… you won't take that chance, but Marko certainly. And you had to tell someone. Who knows if Lt. Surge will try to get some reward money or not. And besides, Rickie is right. Marko and yourself are both in similar situations. You both have untapped potential, potential that others would love to exploit. That's probably why Marko changed his name when he joined the team, and why he doesn't even talk about his, well, eyes.

His eyes, when his emotions run rampant, they end up glowing a bright yellow hue, but that yellow hue can easily be unnoticed by his golden eyes. You, on the other hand, have a different problem. It's a big reason why your father always told you to keep your emotions in check, for like Marko, your eyes will start glowing if you're under intense stress, especially anger. They begin to glow a bright red hue, contrasting your crystal blue eyes completely.

You honestly hate that strange ability of yours, and heck, you don't even know if it's even useful. To you, it's just a curse. A curse you need to deal with, somehow.

But for now, you needed to escape. To disappear completely, but not die. Not get captured.

You slipped on clothes that you can run in, clothes that can afford you the most movement, but also keep your features hidden. You put on your trainer pants, with the deep pockets, and a gray tank top. You slipped on a belt to keep your pants up, and then your jacket, with the hood that can easily go over your face, to conceal your face. You decided not to wear your cap today, for the cap can easily be seen as a Team Rocket hat. The two caps are strangely similar, but not quite. Just close enough. Then, you put on your socks, along with your hiking boots, and lastly you slipped on your black gloves, making sure the gloves were on tight before sighing and turning to your bed.

Don was still perched in his usual spot, but the blanket he had used as a nest had been put away, leaving him cold and irritated. Spirit was currently curled up on your recently made bed, watching as you stuffed your bag with various items, including extra stashes of food, before sitting on your bed and turning to your two pokemon.

" _So… today is the day we reach the port. According to Surge, I'm supposed to go with one of his trusted sailors, but considering the bounty on my head, I don't think that's a good idea at all."_

"Then what's the plan?" Spirit had to ask, glancing between you and the honchkrow, and noticing Don was waiting patiently to respond while you sighed, reluctantly, and scratched the back of your neck.

" _Well… last night, Rai and I both agreed it was a bad idea. So he agreed to get the coordinates or whatever the directions are to me, before I go. That way, I don't have to deal with some guy who could potentially betray me. I plan on heading to Surge's room before I leave."_

" _And are we leaving early?"_ Don had to ask, and you gave the honchkrow a smirk before turning to look at your eevee.

" _I snatched one of the water pokemon from one of the cargo rooms, last night. If I can sneak out before Lt. Surge notices me, I'm going to hop aboard the water type, swim to the island on my own, and then release the guy when we've stepped foot on land. It's a tentacruel, and I had already talked to it through the pokeball. So hopefully he'll cooperate. I figured a tentacruel would be the best one to snatch, considering that tentacool and tentacruel are all over the place. It won't be strange to see a tentacruel bobbing around in the water. I also have the oxygen breather, in case we have to go underwater, which I bet we will,"_ you stated, pointing to the pocket on the side of your bag, before glancing up at Don. _"Until I reach land, I think it'll be best to keep you guys in your pokeballs. While having eyes in the sky would be a good thing, Surge and everyone else on this ship know that I have a honchkrow, and if they notice one flying towards the island then they'll know I left. So, until we reach land, you two stay in your pokeballs._

" _Hopefully this'll all work out,"_ you sighed deeply to yourself, but the two pokemon nodded their heads, Don swooping down and landing on your shoulder.

" _Of course. We just have to hope that the raichu does his job, first. Does anyone else know about this plan?"_

" _No. Not even Rai. He just thinks I want the information in case I get betrayed. I'm not sticking around to see if I'm betrayed or not. I just want to distance myself, right now."_

" _Good… I'll be your lookout, and the boy can follow you,"_ Don told you, giving Spirit a glance before nuzzling his beak into your hair, causing you to yelp and squirm under his nibbling touch. _"We'll keep you safe, hatchling. Just make sure you reach your grandfather."_

" _I must ask… do you know who he is? What type of human is he like?"_ you had to say, and the honchkrow huffed underneath his breath in a way that you assumed he wasn't going to respond, but you were surprised when he opened his beak to speak.

" _I have only meet him a few times. He isn't the worst of humans. I warn you to be on your guard, but… he's a good man to his family. So you shouldn't worry about any harm being brought to you, because of him. Rather, what trouble does he bring to the table? That's the real question."_

"I see," you pouted, but you couldn't help but feel some relief. Sure, Surge says your grandfather is this great guy, but to hear a pokemon approve of the man? Well… you feel a bit better, though you still know that the worst is yet to come. "Okay… _we should get going. It may be two in the morning, but I want to leave and reach the island before the first light."_


	18. CH17: The Frantic Search

"Thank you," you decided to say as you stepped off of the fairly large tentacruel, the gigantic jellyfish gurgling and waving his limbs in reply before slowly sinking into the water, disappearing back into the ocean it calls home. You quickly made your way off of the sands into the flourishing greenery, your hands shoving your small scuba oxygen breather into your side pocket, just in case you needed it, as you made your way into the large trees, hiding yourself within their large shady branches before sighing deeply underneath your breath.

You glanced around, making sure no human was around, and noticing there weren't a lot of pokemon wandering about, yet, before you took out Don's pokeball and threw it up into the air. You caught the pokeball with ease as you released the honchkrow. The dark type landed comfortably upon your shoulder, glancing down as you took out a sheet of paper from your inner jacket pocket, glad that it wasn't wet at all as you opened up the paper to glance at the writing inside.

" _2463 Wingpail Lane… I'm assuming that's the building,"_ you decided to say out loud, knowing Don couldn't read the writing that was on the slip of paper.

"… _What shall we do? –"_

" _You be my lookout. If you notice something shady going on, alert me. First, we'll find this building, and then we'll stake it out for a while, from a distance."_

" _Why? –"_

" _For all I know, no one will actually be there. Rai may have gotten the wrong information, or perhaps it's a trick. So… considering you know what this relative of mine looks like, I want you to give me a signal if you spot him… 'kay?"_

" _If that's what you want,"_ Don sighed to himself, suddenly opening up his wings and glancing at you with a glare in his eyes, _"but be careful."_

"Of course," you smiled to him, lifting up your shoulder as he swooped off of your limb and into the trees. A tired sigh left your breath as you glanced to your left, noticing the sun slowly beginning to rise in the distance over the horizon. The day was probably going to be fairly hot and sunny, though the fluffy white clouds could bring rain, or at the very least, some shade. Your warm disguise won't be sustainable for very long, but if you find what you're looking for quickly, and stay in the shade, you can probably last in this tropical weather. After all, it isn't the summer, so this shouldn't be too bad…

Hopefully.

You know that Spirit wanted to be released from his confinement, but a uniquely colored eevee will give away your position, for sure. You can only hope there are other kids dressed up in a similar fashion to you so you can blend in, rather than stick out, in a big crowd. Considering you didn't have a map of the island, you're only going off of what you can see with your eyes. So you slowly made a large berth through the tropical forest, trying to avoid making any sounds, in case there were sleeping pokemon about who would become rambunctious if they were rudely woken up. You carefully slipped into the town, through a thin alleyway that could barely fit a full person, but you could manage the tight fit. You made your way onto a side street, tugging on your hood before shoving your hands into your pockets as you calmly, and confidently, walked down the streets, acting as if you've been living there for quite a while.

! #$%^&*()

"Quick, fire fang," Rickie ordered his houndoom with a motion of his finger, and the houndoom growled, his grit teeth bursting into flames as he ran, jumping up into the air, and biting down on the flying dustox.

"Crap! Sandslash, help out your friend!" the young man, dressed in Team Rocket attire, ordered with a gloved hand as the sandslash swiped his claws together before running forward towards the houndoom. The sandslash tried to use slash, but missed the houndoom as he ducked his head, only to get a headbutt in the face by the houndoom, forcing the sandslash backward.

"Frank, make a run for it," Rickie ordered as he threw out another pokeball, releasing a machoke from its confinement, and his companion nodded quickly before turning on his heels and dashing down the hallway, leaving the fighting to his childhood friend.

Marko couldn't believe this was happening. First, the two captured grunts had escaped with help of one of their allies, which had apparently boarded the ship before they reached the nearest island, and now the cargo ship is in utter chaos. Rockets fighting Rockets, and no one knowing exactly who is on their side or not. The enemy knows, but they do not, and he can only hope he's not too late.

After hearing Josh talking to another grunt about a girl they had to take with them, he knew he had to find Violet, and fast. "Golbat, quick, use shadow ball," Marko ordered as he released his golbat, the batty pokemon flapping his wings as he swooped as high as he could in the confining hallway. He let out an ear-piercing screech as a strong dark spiraling ball flew at the door, slamming into the iron door, and breaking the handle off of the door. Marko grabbed the sizzling hole that was now in the door and pried it open, only to notice that the girl he was looking for was long gone. "Damn it!... Let's go," he told his golbat, the two of them rushing down the hallway as quickly as they could, and Marko made a beeline for the control room, hoping to encounter Lt. Surge along the way.

Luckily for him, before he even reached the room, he noticed a group of electric types battling a hoard of Rocket grunts, but unluckily for him, he came at the wrong time, barely turning back around as he was thrown sideways into a wall, groaning in pain as he felt the back of his shirt was slightly smoldering, but luckily not on fire. "Crap… explosion," Marko groaned in pain, glancing to notice his golbat had avoided the attack with ease, but a second later his golbat was falling to the ground after receiving an electrical shock through his system. "Return," he sighed as he held out his pokeball, sending the pokemon back into the pokeball before turning to notice the lieutenant had three pokemon out: his raichu, an electrode that had fainted, and a magnezone that had just used discharge.

Marko considered if he should step in the line of fire or not, but decided the best course of action would be to help the lieutenant, by surrounding the traitorous grunts.

"Houndour, use smog," Marko ordered as he threw his pokeball, the fire/dark type jumping out of his pokeball and instantly letting out a poisonous smog. Most of the pokemon flinched at the sudden attack from behind while their trainers turned back, startled, but Marko had stumbled back to his feet, knowing he had to act fast. "Use flamethrower, followed by crunch," he ordered, his houndour silently, yet swiftly, jumping into the smog, the flames leaping out of the smog followed by cries coming from the pokemon, and as the smog dissipated the pokemon had all fainted on the ground, the houndour stepping in front of his owner and growling at the shaking bunch.

"Thanks boy," Surge couldn't help but smirk, before turning to the Rocket grunts and letting out a huff. "Let's finish them off. Raichu, use your thunder wave!"

"Rai, rai chuchu!" the raichu exclaimed, his cheeks filling with electrical energy, before he sent out a thunderous jolt of electricity towards the pokemon, and humans, causing them all to flop to the ground, shivering and spazzing from the strong jolt of electricity.

"… Where's the kid?" Surge asked Marko sternly, and the man sighed, letting a growl leave his breath.

"That's why I came here. I didn't see her anywhere, so I thought maybe she ran to you."

"We were planning on meeting early this morning, but I checked her bedroom and no one answered," Surge huffed, glaring at his pokemon before turning his attention to the lone Rocket grunt. "I thought maybe she got herself kidnapped, but since these dumbasses are looking for her, they must think she's on the ship."

"She probably left and is on the island," Marko realized, but before he could utter another word the man rushed towards him, standing right in front of the young man and handing him a slip of paper. "This is the address where her grandfather is. If she's smart, she'll try to be meeting him there. I noticed my original copy was missing this morning, so hopefully she was the one who took it."

"Great –"

"I'll clean up this mess, but we'll be staying out at sea until we do," Lt. Surge stated with a huff, pointing behind him. "Head to the deck. Tell the boys I sent you. Head to the island, and quickly. Who knows what's happening there."

"Sure thing," Marko responded, his houndour taking the lead as he ran past the lieutenant, with Marko soon following. The two of them quickly made their way to the desk, where they came across a group of sailors lowering a few of the lifeboats, and the Rocket doing his best to help the group so he can get to the island as quickly as possible.

Before that kid did something appallingly stupid.

)(*&^%$# !

As you finally came across the building you couldn't help but hide across the street, watching the building from afar. Your instincts told you that something wasn't right, taking in the fact that the building was in a closed off facility on the edge of the town, and you had to sneak over a fence to get in. Buildings 2462 – 2465 were all within the fenced off facility, some old warehouse for lumber, if you're taking in the scenery correctly. Either way, you noticed that the people surrounding the buildings, obviously guarding them, weren't in black and red, but rather wearing a combination of black and blue. Of course, if they had some sort of logo they wouldn't be advertising it, but this is obviously a hub spot for a criminal group, but who? Certainly not Team Rocket.

You've spent a lot of your time distinguishing various criminal groups. The thing that was consistent with Team Rocket is their black and red attire, sometimes mixed with white. That's a distinction your father insisted was different, no matter if they are in disguises or not. If the grunts are on guard, even without the large red 'R' upon their chests, they'll be wearing black, with some sort of reddish color mixed in. That's why finding red and black trainer jackets and other attire is frowned upon. People will automatically see that trainer as a shady figure, even if they simply like the two colors.

Either way, considering you didn't see a bit of red upon these guards, you had a feeling that Surge's information must be wrong. Whatever his raichu gave you must not be the right address.

But… as you continued to watch, from a safe distance, beside one of the further abandoned buildings, 2465, which had been set up beside the old lumber yard, with stacks of logs rotting all over the place with sawdust everywhere, you noticed a group of black vehicles approaching the gates, and you narrowed your eyes in suspicion.

Upon the vans, you saw the familiar large red 'R' placed upon the sides, as if they had nothing to hide, and you noticed that a particular fellow, dressed up in black and red, showed up to the gates, letting the group in. Those other guards, the ones in blue instead of red, had disappeared into the buildings: 2462, 2463, and 2464. Apparently, they don't see the 2465 building as a good building to stake out, considering the roof had caved in due to wear and tear, and even you doubt they kept anything in the building you were currently leaning against.

Regardless of your thoughts, you watched with a keen gaze as you saw figures stepping out of the Rocket vans. A few of them in suit and ties, while the rest were wearing Team Rocket grunt uniforms, with two of them wearing agent uniforms.

At that very moment, you felt Don land upon your shoulder, your eyes barely giving him a glance while you spotted murkrow beginning to roost upon the various buildings around the fenced off, abandoned, yet still in some sort of use, warehouse buildings. _"… Your grandfather is among them,"_ you heard the honchkrow whisper against your ear, barely making a sound, but loud enough that you could easily hear him against the side of your face, _"but something isn't right."_

" _I realized that,"_ you responded bluntly, giving the honchkrow a pout before looking back to the group that was assembling in front of the 2463 building. _"… Who is he?"_

" _You see the confident looking human, by the second car,"_ he began, your eyes noticing a fairly tall man with slicked back dark brown hair, hiding behind a pair of black sunglasses. _"He's the one with the 'R' patch on his left chest, wearing the suit and the black trench coat."_

" _I see,"_ you responded, your eyes widening as you took in the man from a distance, but still, something didn't feel right to you, and you couldn't help but take a few cautious steps back, hiding behind a few rusty barrels, watching the exchange from a distance.

Your eyes honed in on the man that Don stated was your grandfather, watching as he moved his hand around, with his other hand tucked into his pocket in a casual manner, ordering his grunts around as he made his way into the 2463 building. He was talking to one of the grunts, the man who had shown up from the building wearing black and red, and then… as the doors to the building closed, you heard a sharp hiss and a persian jumping out of the second black vehicle, letting out a pain filled cry as the group of black and blue thugs jumped out of their hiding spots, surrounding the Rockets who were still outside of the building and on the grounds.

Your eyes widened in shock. An ambush? What's going on?

You could feel Don swooping off of your shoulders, flying up in a way that didn't alert the humans to your current location, but your eyes connected with the irritated looking persian, his bright red eyes glaring at you from a distance.

For some strange reason, through your fear, you could tell that the persian seemed, strangely, at ease, as if he could somehow recognize you.

But you couldn't recognize him, and your eyes broke contact the moment you heard pokemon being released from pokeballs, and the persian snarling as a hoard of pokemon appeared around him.

You had two choices: either you stick around and try to help, or you could run away. But… to run away from a fight… when you're so close… what can a little girl do anyways?

You bit down on your bottom lip, shifting backward, slowly and carefully, as you glanced into the building you were hiding beside, out of the view of the humans, and even pokemon, in the area. You realized that this building **was** in use, with crates upon crates of pokeballs and other crates in the dry parts of the opened building. You made your way inside, crawling on your elbows and knees to get closer, noticing that the pokeballs were filled with tired and fainted pokemon.

A mischievous smirk appeared on your face. However, you'll need the help of Spirit by your side, so you gently pressed the button on your eevee's pokeball, sending out the pokemon as he gave you a curious glance, wondering what was going on. You silently motioned to the crates of pokeballs, his eyes giving you a curious look as you nodded your head in response.

He smirked, the two of you grinning to one another before you both began your plan. You let your hands reach for the nearest crate, close to the opened door that faced the other buildings, while your eevee began to sneak around, looking for any tools that you both could use to make this process easier.

! #$%^&*()

 **A/N: HEY GUYS! Long time, no see! Like, seriously. Apparently, the last time I posted was right after Christmas Day, so I personally apologize for that. I had gotten Ultra Moon for Christmas, though, so could you really blame me for pushing this story to the sidelines for a bit? Plus, I've been oddly busy ever since Christmas came and went, so I've been preoccupied with, well, life in general.**

 **So, I'm leaving your guys on a cliff hanger, I realized! Hah haha! Is something going to happen? Who is the** _ **mysterious~ grandfather?**_ **And an ambush!?**

 **Well, don't you guys worry. Right after I post this chapter up, I'll be looking over CH18. This part of Viola's origin story is almost completed. Only a few more chapters to go. So, considering I had this story on hiatus for a bit, I'm going to post the next chapters as soon as possible, if they aren't up already.**

 **I'd like to also tell you guys that I have been posting this story onto my wattpad account. So, user 'reaperlostsouls' isn't stealing. That's me. No worries!**

 **I'm thinking that I'll be posting my MAIN OC, Viola, story here, first, on . However, I am thinking of, perhaps, starting on a side project, just so I can use more of my creative juices. Ever since I re-started my journey in the Alola region [and btw I haven't exactly finished the full gameplay yet, but working on it] I'm kind of interested in making a Team Skull story or create a story from the rocketlocke/nuzlocke I'm currently playing in Ultra Moon. If I do that, I think I'll post the chapters on wattpad, first, and then post them here on this account, but I'm not quite sure if I'll be doing that or not.**

 **Please leave a COMMENT if you think I should post either of those stories or not.**

 **This origin story is getting close to being finished, honestly. I already know how I'm ending it, and for the second parter, I'm just about wrapping up the story as a whole. So don't worry. I don't plan on stopping this story. It's being written or has mostly been written, so don't think this story is going to abruptly end. But, for this world building I'm currently doing, I'm wondering if I'm going to write an Alolan story or not. I'm kind of hyped for Alola [because, well, it's in Hawaii. I have relatives there, and honestly I like how Game Freak has a set of islands as regions. Hoenn was the region I spent a lot of time and energy playing, because for some reason I got Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald all for Christmas, one year, or at least Ruby and Sapphire. I was so happy about that, and I spent months playing through Hoenn over, and over, and over again]. So for me, all the references to Hawaiian/Pacific Islander culture is great. I haven't been this pumped to be a part of the pokemon fandom since the Unova region. Personally, I'm not a fan of Kalos, or France. I've been to France and didn't find the people very friendly. The food, sure, and the art, alright, but the people? Meh. I'd rather go back to Italy, or visit the British Isles. So Kalos, while pretty, wasn't my favorite region to explore either.**

 **But I'm ranting, so yeah. Those are my thoughts. I don't know if I'll do it yet or not. We'll see. I want to finish this story, first, and I'm almost done with that. I work the weekends though, which is why I am usually not posting chapters during the weekend and only during the week, for the most part. But, I have been spending hours, yesterday, trying to post chapters of this story onto wattpad, so I'm still in the writing/revising/reviewing mindset right now.**

 **I'll tell you, playing my Ultra Moon game has me pumped about pokemon again. I did kind of sway a bit from writing this story for a little while, but I'm back into writing this story. And at the moment, I'm motivated to finish posting the first parter of this story. The layout of how this story is written may change. I think my plan is to finish the very last chapter, then right after/at the same time, post the very next chronological story. I'll tell you guys when I do, so just be ready for that.**

 **Okay. I'm done talking now, and I have a few more chapters to review. I want to try to finish it all up tonight, or at least the next chapter or two tonight, and I'll post CH18… maybe tomorrow? More likely after I get back from work, around 9-10pm. THANK YOU guys for reading my story so far and ENJOY your weekend!**


	19. CH18: Scheming Disorder

"It's great to see you here, Boss. We weren't expecting you so soon," the head Rocket agent of the base smiled sweetly, though Giovanni felt that something was off.

He noticed that there were about two grunts standing guard, only two, and usually his arrival would case a lot more uproar. But, he shifted his hand into his pocket, where he kept one of his strongest fighters, and he silently hoped that his persian would either get over to his side already or, at the very least, be helpful to his grunts standing outside. "My previous engagements were moved. Regardless, I hope you can show me your base of operations, Shane. This is rather new, right?"

"Indeed. We've only been up in operations for six months. Mainly used to resupply the cargo ships, but we also store some of the stolen goods as well," the agent explained, leading the man into the shabby building.

The man kept a calm look on his face, but he could tell something was wrong. Not only could he feel it in his nerves, but the lights in the building were turned off, with the only light coming in through the front doors. As soon as the doors closed behind him the world went dark around him, his eyes glaring from behind his shades, noticing that Agent Shane had suddenly distanced himself from him.

He heard people shifting from all four sides towards him, and with an irritated snort he suddenly shifted downward, kicking out his right foot as he placed his hands upon the ground, causing a young man to yelp as he was tripped underneath his feet, and with a swift kick he spun, kicking another approaching man right in the face. He held up his bare hands, gripping them into fists, and noticing the hesitation of his opponents, he smirked and suddenly spun on his heel, kicking the nearest young man in the face and causing him to fly into a box of crates and overturned barrels.

But before he could do anything else, he heard a gunshot, barely missing the side of his face as one stray light turned on in the building, revealing a man he wished he wasn't seeing. "Antonio," he growled underneath his breath, while the man simply smirked slyly in reply.

"Giovanni. I wasn't expecting to see you till tomorrow –"

"What's the meaning of this?" he snorted, his hand shifting into his pocket while he turned his other half to face the man, hoping the boy didn't notice his movement. "What have you done?"

"You let down your guard, Giovanni. You left your _little~_ hidden base to come out into the open. Why not try to take you out? And while I'm at it," the man smirked slyly, placing his hand upon a stack of crates beside him, with his gun aimed towards the older man's face, "maybe take a _little apprentice~_ while I'm at it."

"Apprentice? What are you talking about? –"

"Don't be a fool. I'm talking about that girl you've been looking for. My spies told me you are searching for a little girl, and at first I didn't think anything of it, but then I remembered you have a _son~_ " he grinned crudely, causing the man to huff in response.

"You leave the girl out of this –"

"Gio, Gio," he grinned darkly, slowly walking up to the slightly taller man with his gun pointed at the man's head, "you are in _no~~ position_ to start making demands. Besides, you walked into _my~ territory_. What did you think would happen? Huh?"

"I think your ego is getting too big for that brain of yours, Antonio," Giovanni huffed, not daring to flinch away from the gun that was pointed right at his head, refusing to show the man any weaknesses. "… What do you expect to accomplish? You really think taking me out will place you at the head of Team Rocket?"

"No, but I have enough of **your** _followers~_ on **my side** to make it fairly easy. You made a mistake in betraying me, Giovanni, and now –"

The man's speech was cut short as they both heard an explosion outside the doors, and that gave the much older man the opportunity to reach for the young man's gun, the traitor named Shane letting out a 'sir!' before the two fell onto the floor, wrestling for the gun.

"Get off! –"

"Take him out," Giovanni spoke sternly, his pokeball releasing as he freed his other hand from his pocket to grab the gun with both hands, and standing in the darkness was a large and intimidating rhyperior. The large horns upon the rhyperior began to spin rapidly, and the man named Antonio managed to let out a yell as the rhyperior ran as fast as he could at the human, using drill run and giving Giovanni enough time to stand back on his feet, gun in hand. "Earthquake," he ordered roughly, noticing the traitors trying to flee the scene, and his rhyperior stomped his feet, causing the entire building to shift and move, and he knew he had to get out of the building quickly before the entire building caved in around him.

! #$%^&*()

You told the pokemon to scatter the moment you released them from their pokeballs, Spirit shoving over a few crates to release more pokemon out into the open. They all charged out of the building, exactly the distraction you wanted, and after kicking and shoving a few more crates over you rushed to the other side of the building, hiding behind empty boxes and lone barrels as groups of people ran past you, either trying to recapture the fleeing pokemon, or trying to figure out what happened.

Either way, you noticed a ladder and picked up Spirit, letting him hang from your shoulders as you climbed up the rusty ladder, glad that you were wearing gloves. The moment you stood on top of the roof, the building right next to the one you had been rushing through, you let Spirit jump off of your shoulder as you moved down into a crawling position, carefully making your way to the edge of the roof to look down on the scene below.

It was like watching an unrealistic pokemon movie, but this time the chaos was real and right in front of you. Pokemon fleeing, humans ordering their pokemon to chase after the fleeing pokemon, and a chaotic mess of pokemon battles happening on the ground level. Your eyes fell upon the persian, who was currently using a move called power gem to cause a couple of weaker pokemon to fly backward, hitting their trainers in the process.

You could feel Don land upon your shoulder, and with a smirk you have him a nod, knowing that the time of action was now.

You watched in amusement as a flock of murkrow, and a stray honchkrow or two, swooped down, suddenly attacking all the grunts in black and blue, though you noticed some did attack the red clothed humans, but close enough.

But before you could think of your next course of action, you felt the ground suddenly shifting beneath you, and you yelped as you gripped hold of the edge of the roof, feeling the rooftop beginning to cave in below your body. You could hear your eevee yelping in surprise, grabbing hold of your shoulder as the roof began to fall underneath you, and you could feel Don's talons grabbing hold of the top of your jacket, his wings flapping quickly as your hands and arms managed to grab hold of the edge of the roof.

Your hand and arm managed to have a grip upon the edge of the roof, which was still holding on, but you could tell it wasn't for long. "Jump… off… please," you struggled to say to Spirit, who carefully jumped onto the edge of the roof's long beam with the elegance of a feline, while you shifted your body weight to lean your body onto the edge, groaning as you struggled to stay on top of the unstable structure. You could feel Don's talons still gripping your backside, just in case you slipped off of the roof, but your eyes scanned your surroundings, trying to find the best spot to jump down from.

Deciding it would be best for Spirit's safety, you sent him back into his pokeball, shoving his pokeball into your pocket as swiftly as possible. You carefully began to crawl along the edge of the roof, small gasps or startled yelps leaving your breath as you slowly made your way to one of the corners, hoping you could find a spot to jump down.

But, as you reached the edge, you only saw barrels that wouldn't break your fall and could only injure you, and crates that could or not be filled with hard items. But, you honestly had no other choice, the mud and dirt hopefully breaking your fall compared to falling upon the concrete foundation of the building. Yet, before you could decide to slip off of the side of the building to the ground below, you heard someone yelling at you, and your eyes turned to the group of people on the ground.

"Rhyperior, get the girl, quick!" you heard a deep throated man shout from the ground, your eyes staring wide and frightful at the figure.

But, you quickly recognized that man to be the one Don pointed out, and noticing his tone of voice, as if he was fearful that you were going to fall to your death, you hesitantly waited for the large rhyperior to stomp his way to the building, only to feel the supports from the roof beginning to crumble.

With a cry you jumped, a gasp leaving the group of spectators as you reached for the rhyperior, feeling your body descending downward, but the flap of Don's wings prevented gravity from slamming you into the ground. Instead, the rhyperior slid forward, reaching out his limbs and arms to grab you, and as you hit the rock hard pokemon you coughed loudly in response, feeling the wind knocked right out of you. But it was better than falling to the ground from a rooftop.

"For Arceus' sake," you could hear the gruff man huff, though he sounded relieved, and he slowly turned his back on you, towards the people currently surrounding him. The rhyperior stomped his way towards his owner, your eyes staring at the man with suspicion as you saw his persian now standing beside him, licking his paw and combing his front paw through his glossy fur. "… The lot of you, traitors. I should have expected as much," he snorted, your eyes taking in the scene around you with wide eyes.

There were bodies lining the ground, probably people and pokemon who couldn't take the earthquake attack, or had fallen by other means, but while pokemon could sometimes revive from fainting, the humans looked… dead. There was about twelve, thirteen grunts circling the intimidating looking man, seemingly loyal in their black and red, surrounding a tied up or incapacitated group of grunts in black and dark blue, causing you to frown in response.

"… Dave, deal with this lot," he huffed, waving his hand at one of the grunts standing beside him, and the man nodded in response, taking a step forward towards the frightened group.

However, as the man came closer to his rhyperior, with his persian at his heels, the stern and dark look on his face soon disappeared, and you watched as the man took off his sunglasses, shoving the glasses into his trench coat pocket to look up at you. You could feel Don flapping his wings and landing on top of the rhyperior as the large ground/rock type set you down, carefully, though you felt a bit bruised and your muscles strained. "Viola, is that you?" you heard the man ask as you were placed upon the ground, but you stumbled forward, letting out a whimpering cry as your felt your leg was wobbly, and in horrible pain. If you pressed your foot upon the ground a pain shot right up your spine, but you hobbled, trying to stand upright, until the man quickly put his hands around your waist to stabilize your uncomfortable shifting. "… Viola? Child, is that your name? –"

"Y-yes, but… I don't know you," you glared up at the man, gripping his bare hands as you pushed yourself upright, wanting to free yourself from his grip. If you tried to run away, you'd only fall back down in pain, and you honestly didn't want to be that stupid.

But, you're also very uncomfortable about how close he suddenly got to you. This man. This… stranger you don't really know.

"The name is Giovanni," he smiled, kneeling down into the dirt and mud with a somber smile upon his face. "Giovanni Rosso. Does the name sound familiar to you?" he decided to ask in a softer tone of voice, your eyes glaring up at him until your eyes slowly widened, a deep realization coming to your mind.

"Rosso… grandfather?" you had to ask, a confused tone leaving your breath, and he sighed in relief.

"Good. At least my son isn't a complete idiot," he breathed, but then he stared up at you with a serious look in his dark brown eyes. "Look, child, Viola, I can explain everything to you, but right now isn't the best time. Please, don't resist coming with me, and I'll get us to a safe place… okay?"

Your mind told you no, you shouldn't go with this guy you don't know, but… noticing Don was looking at you with a sad look on his face, and the man was giving you a look that felt oh so familiar, you could only close your eyes, sighing deeply to yourself. "This… is stupid, but I-I'll leave with you… You better be telling the truth," you growled back, causing the man to smirk and stand to his feet.

"I wouldn't lie to family," he smirked down at you, slowly letting go of your waist, but holding out a hand for you to lean against. Your body wobbled, trying to stay upright on your injured leg, but you decided that this was your best option right now. So, you let your hand slip into his own as you gripped his hand hard, jumping and stumbling forward, trying to keep up with the strides of the tall man beside you. The tall man held out a pokeball, sending his strong rhyperior into his pokeball, before walking towards the currently parked vehicles, painted in black and red. "You know what to do," he whispered to the guy named Dave, and you couldn't help but frown as you were led to one of the blacked out vehicles, the man placing you inside and his persian jumping in from beside him, before he slipped into the van and the door closed behind him.

Your eyes couldn't help but stare out the black tinted windows as the van began to drive away from the scene, a worried look crossing your face as you could faintly hear yelling and shouting, before gunshots erupted from behind the vehicle, making you flinch at the sounds as you slumped down into your seat. Don decided to perch upon your shoulder, staring at the other passengers with a judgmental look upon his face, as you sat there, unsure about your decisions, while your eyes couldn't help but glance over at the man now sitting uncomfortably close to you.

)(*&^%$# !

 **A/N: AH HAH! So it was Giovanni your grandpa all along! I don't think that came as too much of a surprise, but yeah. Here's my exciting action scenes. It wasn't as exciting as it could have been, but I tried my best.**

 **I hope you guys are enjoying the story. The last two chapters will wrap up the rest of the story for you guys. And as I stated in the last chapter, I'll probably be posting the very next part in this origin story right after I post the very last chapter in this parter. The picture will be practically identical to the current picture designated to this current story. I decided to not change it too much. Just enough to tell it apart, and in a way that made it easy and simple. These story pics aren't very elaborate. I didn't spend a lot of time deciding on what they'd look like or anything. But yeah. Just so you know before the very end of this part.**

 **Though, I'll have you guys know I am still working on the other half of this story. I don't know if I'll make it three parts, or just make the second part longer then 20+ chapters. In fact, it may end up being shorter. We'll see how it goes.**

 **But anyways, we're almost done! And I hope you guys are enjoying my creation so far. THANKS for reading and I hope you guys ENJOY yourselves!**


	20. CH19: Cold Truth

You sat in the car, your eyes glancing over at the man every so often, only to stare back down at your lap. You slowly lifted up your left leg, wondering where exactly you had gotten injured, and why. You can only conclude it was because of that rhyperior. You probably slammed into the pokemon harder then you should have.

Your eyes began to linger upon the man sitting across from you, staring at him with the same judgmental look your father's honchkrow was also giving him.

His face looked strained, his eyes glaring as he stared out the tinted window. Every so often, he would grumble underneath his breath, and barely acknowledged you were even sitting there. You could tell he was stressed out. After all, one of the Rocket bases had been compromised, and you were wondering by who. It was obviously another gangster, so who exactly? Whoever it was, it was putting this man on edge, and you couldn't stop but give him a worried look, wondering where this was all leading to.

It didn't take long for Giovanni to notice that you were staring at him from across the silent car, but he didn't know what to say. Should he even say anything? He hasn't seen you since you were… and he took the time and energy to distance himself from his son's family, while still trying to keep an eye on him. he can only conclude that he didn't do a very good job in watching out for him, even if his son wanted him to stay away.

But… while the girl across from him, so young and so tired, looked like a spitting image of her mother, and… well, in several ways, his own mother. He could tell she had dyed her hair brown, but if it was black that came from her great grandmother. And those eyes, while blue, were also very much gray, like her father's. She was a unique looking child, and he can only conclude she'd become a beautiful looking young woman.

Good genes do run in the family, after all.

However, just how is he going to do this? After all, the girl is assuming she's going with him, but… should she? There are many people out there willing to take the girl in, but there is some information he wants to have from her, first. More importantly, what exactly happened to his son, and why does she insist on running? What stupidity did his son get into anyways?

"… Where are we going?" you finally managed to ask in a meek tone of voice, and you noticed the man barely gave you a glance before sighing underneath his breath as he continued to look out the window.

"Towards another Team Rocket base, but it's located on the other side of the island, away from the civilians… Don't you have any questions?"

"Huh?" you couldn't help but ask, noticing he was now looking over at you with his hand propping up his head, as he leaned against the window with a bored and tired look on his face.

"I'm surprised you showed up, the way you did, and I can only assume you helped distract my enemies using those captured pokemon. So… don't you have questions?"

"Many, but should I even ask them?" you decided to say, giving the man a stern look while he only raised a curious eyebrow at your simple question. "You look busy and stressed out. Even if I ask, I may not understand what you're even talking about –"

"You can try. Whether you like it or not, we're family now, and I tell you, I'll be as honest as I can with you," he decided to state, causing you to frown as your eyes began to stare out the window, the movement causing Don to nuzzle his beak against the side of your hood, as if he was trying to get rid of the hood that was still atop your head.

"… Just… I figure that you're a part of Team Rocket in some way. So… how? Who are you?" you had to ask, watching him with a keen interest as he turned to slump back into his chair, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I go by Giovanni Rosso, but my real name is Giovanni Roket," he told you simply, and when he noticed that your eyes widened as he said 'Roket', he couldn't help but smirk in amusement, causing you to blush brightly and quickly turn away from him. "My mother, your great grandmother, I suppose, was the one who started Team Rocket. I became her successor, but there were some in her ranks that thought they should be the ones on top, while others thought I was unfit to lead Team Rocket. But these days, what I come across are kids who think that they can or should succeed me, rather than old rivals. Most of them, if not all, have given up.

"… What am I? They call me the Boss. I'm the leader of Team Rocket," he honestly told you, his eyes studying you intently, analyzing every nervous twitch and movement you made as you stared out the window, deep in thought.

"So… that's why daddy told me to avoid you guys," you decided to admit, much to Giovanni's surprise by the sincerity in your tone of voice, but you turned back to the man and smiled timidly at him. "I think… I get what is going on now. You don't want to kill me, do you?"

"What?" he snorted in annoyance, his crossed arms moving to his sides as he glared at you, or rather at your words. "I would never try to kill you –"

"If you're a mob boss, then you cannot be certain of that –"

"Look, I may have done, and still do, many awful things, things I will not disclose to a mere child, but I won't go out of my way to kill a kid. Especially my own kin. You're a fool to think that way," he huffed, but he couldn't help but stare at you in surprise as you giggled lightly underneath your breath and shook your head at him.

" _A fool~_ , huh? Yes," you sighed deeply, "well… considering what's happened… it's hard to trust anyone, alright? And considering what **just** happened, should I have a reason to not be very trusting?"

"I suppose… but I'll have you know, this incident will be quickly dealt with, I assure you," he snorted, but you smiled in amusement and glanced down at your hands.

"… Why," you began, meekly, slowly gripping at the gloves that protected your hands as you slowly began to pry them off, staring down at your cut and bruised fingers, and inspecting new scrapes you didn't realize were there before, "did you… stay away all this time? Why," you sighed, turning to look out the window, noticing that they were making their way into the forest now, leaving the port town far behind them, "did… well… why did dad say that you're dead? I thought that… I was alone," you mumbled, suddenly reaching into your jacket and prying your necklace free, staring down at the arrowhead with slight fascination in your eyes. "You know… it's strange cause I loved to hear stories about my grandparents. My mum loved her parents, but it took me a lot of effort to get much out of my dad. Yet… I can see the similarities," you decided to admit, your head looking up to stare at him, wondering what the man was going to say back.

Noticing you had stopped talking, Giovanni's gaze slowly turned away from your own, staring out the window as he wondered how much he should disclose to this girl. After all, you're his only living kin, now. He might as well be honest… right? "… I got to meet you when you were just born, in Viridian Forest. Your parents were so excited to see you, their first born, and so was I, in a way. For some strange reason, luck was just on my side. I managed to encounter your folks a few days before they were planning on leaving, so we stayed in a cabin and chatted.

"Your mother was a very knowledgeable woman. She asked me a lot of questions about my family, about who I am. My mother, my grandparents, or whoever else I can recall. Since she was family now, I disclosed a lot of things. Things I would… never say to anyone else." He couldn't help but sigh, deeply, his hand running through the fur of his persian's head as he slumped his soft head upon his lap. "Before all of that, your father and I rarely spoke, but your mother insisted, when those two got married, that I should be included in their lives, somehow. Your father and I always fought for one reason or another, but… it was nice to have family again," he smiled lightly, but as he turned to look over at you, he couldn't help but give you a stern look.

"But during that weekend in Viridian, your father and I came to an agreement. Considering my work, my deep seeded involvement in Team Rocket, your father didn't want his children to have to bear the burden he does, what I do. He didn't want you or any other kid he may have had to have to live in a world of fear. To have a blissful and carefree life. I… agreed, even if it meant I never see my grandchildren again. As for the dead thing," he huffed, his head shifting away to stare out the window, "your father told you that, not me, but after I found out I quietly agreed. After all, if you think I'm dead you wouldn't go out searching for me, now wouldn't you?"

"… But it wasn't only shocking, but scary to hear from Mr. Surge that I even had a grandparent," you pouted, Giovanni's eyes glancing over at you as he raised an eyebrow, wondering to himself what sort of relationship you had with that boastful navy man. "Considering who I am trying to get away from, having that guy say such a thing scared me. On one hand, that meant I wasn't alone anymore, but on the other, he could be tricking me, which means he wasn't on my side… Dad told me he has enemies, and then there are the family's enemies… a-and I know nothing about any of them," you frowned, holding back the need to cry as you quickly sat up, startling Don slightly, as you turned to the man and let out a snort. "I'm tired of being in the dark all the time. No one tells me anything a-and I scares me that I don't know a damn thing about anything. I get that you think you're protecting me, but I'm seven. I'm old enough to know."

"Well, honestly, I don't think so," he decided to say, but he was smirking lightly in your general direction, but noticing the angry look in your eyes he quickly turned away, letting the grin leave his lips in an instant. "Viola, you're still a child. No child should have to put up with the baggage that comes along with being a Roket. Trust me… our enemies date back far beyond me. Beyond my mother, I bet. Even I don't know every single one of them. It's impossible.

"I've concluded that it's best to assume that the world is against you… but, you shouldn't be afraid either. A Roket never backs down from a challenge. They face confrontations head on, as strong as they are able, without regret… We all make mistakes, child, but let me tell you," he smiled sadly, turning to look at you and notice the necklace you had been wearing underneath your coat, making his smile brighten, only slightly, "we may not be able to change the past, but we can certainly change our future. I will leave the choice up to you, considering you seem like a smart girl."

"Sir? –"

"You can either stay with me and live this criminal life, or I will arrange for you to live with a trusted family friend. Either way, I will do everything in my power to keep you safe, but… if you want a good life, a life without pain and suffering, filled with opportunities that a life on the outside, in the public sphere can give you, then… I suggest you go to live with someone else because that isn't a life I can give you."

His eyes studied you as you looked away, hurt obvious in your eyes as you tried to hold back any sort of tears, but instead of crying in frustration or sadness, you let out a shaky sigh, your gaze falling back onto the scenery outside, noticing that the road was getting more and more bumpy, and you wondered where you were going. "… I-I –"

"You don't have to decide now, but –"

"I didn't… I didn't try to run for some aunt or uncle I knew because I didn't want any harm to come to them," you began, your eyes thoughtful, yet in pain, as you held back the tears. "I-I wanted to go with daddy because I was afraid of losing him, a-and now… he's gone… I'm afraid of losing more people I care about.

"I don't really care about myself, n-not really. S-sure, I'm scared, but if I die, I die. I-I just cannot see more people die because of m-me… I-I just…" You closed your eyes, tightly, your hands gripping at your pant legs as you pushed back the need to cry, to not show any sort of weakness. "Auntie Blue and my cousin Black had to leave because they were afraid of what came after my mum. M-my dad, h-he was… killed by that same man. I don't think running to someone will help me. In fact, all I will do is bring u-unnecessary harm to them. Just… disappearing is best," you told him, bluntly, a shaky sigh leaving your breath as you began to hang your head, your hands gripped into tight little fists. "I shouldn't have… d-decided to stay cause… w-while I wondered about this relative of mine, n-now all that will h-happen is… i-is me seeing you die, t-too, b-because of m-meee."

You couldn't stop the stray tears that left your closed eyelids, and you quickly held up an arm to your face, hoping that your sadness wasn't shining through. You held back your sniffles, your lungs letting out little gasps as you tried to breath properly, and the only thing that kept you grounded was the pain that would occasionally shoot up your left leg, reminding you that you weren't exactly alone, that you were crying in front of someone who was judging you.

You vaguely heard a deep sigh of regret, before movement from the other side of the car caused you to look over your arm to see what was going on, but before you could clearly see through your watery eyes a firm arm wrapped around you, pulling you into the side of a broad chest, arms wrapping around your tiny frame as you shook, trying to control your whimpers. "… I cannot promise you that I won't die," you could hear your grandfather tell you against the side of your head, almost in a whisper, "but… everyone's life eventually comes to an end, some sooner than others. My life has been laced with death and destruction. It isn't something I can escape. Just… if I can do anything, before I die, it'll be doing everything I can to keep you safe and well.

"I understand being scared, but you cannot let fear drive your thoughts. You'll make very sloppy decisions… It's up to you if you stay, Viola. You can stay or you may go, but regardless, whoever is after you, I'll protect you, even if we are leagues apart, or only a few doors away. Don't be scared to live your life the way you want to."

His voice died down as he held you against his side, a sigh leaving his breath as his head glanced over at the honchkrow, who was glaring at him from the side of the car, perched atop the soft upholstery. Feeling drained he slumped his head into the headrest, closing his eyes and rubbing your side, hoping that you'd calm down, somehow.

He never was very good with this whole 'parenting' thing, but then again, this could be round two. First Silver, and now you… Hopefully he won't make as many mistakes, but he knows it'll happen. It's inevitable.

Giovanni could only wonder what was going to happen, to the both of you.

! #$%^&*()

You were surprised to see a fairly large pokemon center, nestled within the tropical forest, surrounded by units of Team Rocket members. Some of them were new, with their standard black uniforms, while others wore variations of the standard Rocket uniform, with a few lingering people wearing tourist or local clothing. You watched with a strange fascination as everyone began to scramble to their places, standing up if they were sitting down, their gazes turned to the black vehicle approaching the center.

What was even more startling was seeing a Nurse Joy appearing from the center with a smile on her face, accompanied by a chansey, of course, as they rushed to the blacked out car.

As you met your grandfather's gaze you could tell he had a snarky smirk upon his face, but his grin faded at his amusement to your reaction as he set his sunglasses in the car, motioning for his persian to stay in the vehicle as it came to a complete stop. "Stay here Viola. This won't be long," he stated, gruffly, before the door opened before him, the sunlight shinning harshly into the car, causing you to squint in annoyance, only for that light to disappear the moment the door closed, and your grandfather soon after.

Your eyes peered through the tinted window as you watched with fascination, watching as grunts and agents alike bowed, and various people walked up to the man, speaking and conversing with him as he made his way into the center. His hands were behind his back as he stood up tall and straight, his trench coat bellowing behind him as he walked with a strange amount of confidence you've only seen on a few people before.

He **knew** he had power over these people, and they knew his orders were final.

It was strange… and frightening, to see this in action.

And yet here you are, sitting idly in the car, the driver already gone and the van in park, as you waited for your grandfather to come back.

A deep, tired sigh left your breath as you slumped back into the car, flinching at the pain in your leg as you turned your gaze to the persian, who didn't look like he was happy to be stuck in the car, either. "… So…" you began, hoping that was enough to get the persian's attention, but when it didn't you pouted, your eyes trying to find something to stare at. "… I have to make a choice, huh?..."

"… _Yes, a choice. I suppose that's better than being forced to stay,"_ you heard Don say in your ear, now that he had re-perched himself upon your shoulder. You tugged at your hood, a frown lining your face, as you heard him continue solemnly, _"This isn't a game, hatchling. If you make a choice, then it'll stay with you for the rest of your life –"_

"I know, I know," you pouted, barely taking notice as the persian's head lifted from his spot upon the soft seats, staring at you with narrowed red eyes as you continued simply, _"but… it's hard to make a decision, you know? What if I make the wrong choice?"_

" _It's only wrong when you believe it to be so. This is your human life, so… I don't think Silver would want you to be lonely, little birdie,"_ he decided to tell you, a meek smile appearing on your face, but your smile faded slowly as you turned to look out the window, a bored look lining your face.

To be labeled a criminal or to live a normal, mundane life… After everything you have experienced, how can you go back to the simple life you used to live? It's not like your mother is ever coming back, nor is your father. You're alone and you just have to deal with that, no matter what you choose.

But then again… if you stay then you could have a family again. You may not know this grandfather of yours, not really, not anymore, but… this is your chance to start over, even if it means you'll be a criminal, a gangster, a, a… a-a… well… maybe that wouldn't be so bad, now that you think about it.

However, sitting in this car was making your mind spin, your eyes always looking outward, wondering if someone or something was going to pop up out of nowhere. You could hear the persian yawning to himself, his eyes slowly closing, and your eyes glanced over at Don, who gave you a sly smirk, probably catching on to your thoughts.

Once the persian had closed his eyes, and you hope he wasn't fully aware of his surroundings, you slowly shifted towards the door, your sweaty hands reaching up to grab the knob, and you looked down at your bag, wondering if you should take it or not, but… well… you won't be long. You'll just come right back, after you find some people.


	21. CH20: Painful Truth or Fearful Lies

**A/N: HEY GUYS! I'm just going to post this up here, but thank you guys for reading my story, so far! I know it isn't completely finished. There's a part 2 coming out, maybe an hour or two after this chapter. But yeah, this is the final chapter to this pokemon Origin Story. I've enjoyed writing this story, and I thank you guys for being so patient with me, when it comes to uploading each chapter. I'm glad to see that I have some new followers, and I'd love to have more as I continue to write!**

 **I'll tell you guys something, I've had this story on my mind for years, now. I just haven't had the confidence or the drive or just the time to start it. My life has become rather… boring, lately. Mundane and bland. But, writing fanfiction or just writing in general keeps my creative mind from yelling in agony. It's just, I haven't decided to post my stories up in a long while because I tend to not finish the stories. But yeah, I feel VERY accomplished right now! This'll be the 2** **nd** **story, on this site, or in general, that I OFFICALLY completed, but this story isn't over yet. Part 2 to this origin story will be coming out in an hour or two, and I'll try to keep up a natural rhythm when it comes to posting stories.**

 **Just don't expect me to post a bunch of chapters at once. Well… maybe I will, for a little while, but eventually I'll get too close to the point I'm writing the chapters at, and then I'll end up having to stop completely. But yeah. Thank you guys for READING this story and THANK YOU for going on this journey with me. I hope you've guys ENJOYED the story and enjoy reading the rest of it!**

! #$%^&*()

You thought were you being quiet. You really did. Everyone seemed to be rather busy, going about their business, trying to get from one spot to another, or they were sitting around, having power naps or looking around in boredom.

But, you should have expected a sneak attack as arms suddenly grabbed your shoulders and you were spun around, staring upward with wide eyes.

"Violet! Where have you been?! –"

"W-well I –"

"I have been looking all over for you! I thought you ran off or something, but now you're here? What the hell? –"

"Mark –"

"I thought you were in trouble, but when I went to your cabin no one was there. I thought you were kidnapped, kid. Kidnapped! But _nooo~_ –"

"Marko, just shut up for one little second," you growled, holding up a finger in his face, but before he could utter another word you decided to say, "please."

"… Fine," he huffed, letting go of your shoulders, but glaring down at you with his arms crossed over his chest. "Explain."

"Look, I knew if I told you I was planning on leaving you'd freak out, like usual, and probably lock me in a storage closet or something –"

"I would never lock you in a room without your consent –"

"But I already suspected foul play and honestly… I don't need people holding my hand all the damn time. I don't need some random guy bringing me to some other strange place just because he was told to. I-I need to be able to make my own decision, okay? I'm sorry for not telling you that I left the boat… I wasn't really sure if I wanted to leave or not, you know? I just felt it was easier to."

"… Vi you could have just told me –"

"Where's Rickie?" you interrupted the young man, glaring up at him sternly as you crossed your arms over your chest, leaning onto your right foot so your left leg wouldn't hurt so much.

"In the center –"

"Why? –"

"He got poisoned by those traitors," he growled underneath his breath, glaring off to the side to a particular blacked out vehicle that you can only assumed held a bunch of prisoners. "But he'll be fine. Barely a scratch… Tell me why you're here then, kid."

"W-well," you chuckled nervously, scratching the back of your neck, "you see, it's a very, **very** funny story. You're going to _laugh~ and laugh~_ –"

"Don't stall. Just spit it out," he told you, but noticing the slightly amused and content look on your face, even though there were dark circles forming underneath your eyes from a lack of sleep, he couldn't help but let a slight smile appear on his own face, seeing you in a familiar state of being.

"So, ah… That relative I apparently have, right? Well, this morning, I snuck into Surge's room and found the slip of paper with the address on it. So I stole a water pokemon and made my way to the island," you decided to tell him, your eyes glancing away to stare off at the Rockets all around you, noticing that no one seemed to notice, or care, that you were even standing there. A child, much too young to be part of some criminal organization, was being yelled at by a mere grunt for being, well, an idiot. "… I staked the place out until people showed up. It is, or rather was, a Team Rocket base on this island."

"… Wait, Vi, are you saying –"

"About four Rocket vehicles were ambushed by some rival gang, I'm guessing," you continued, ignoring the obviously shocked look on the man's face as you looked towards the center's doors, wondering if you should grab your stuff or not. "They wore dark blue and black. I-I don't know what that means, but… they weren't Rockets. I noticed shit was going down, and considering I was going to be sent to that very location, I knew something was wrong. Either Lt. Surge betrayed me, or my grandfather was being betrayed by someone else.

"So I… released a bunch of nearby pokeballs, and then climbed up onto a roof to get a better view," you couldn't help but smirk, turning to look up at the surprised looking Marko as he stared down at you with wide eyes. "But, then the ground shook and the roof caved in. I'm good though. Met that guy and everything," you smiled lightly, and you watched as he put a hand upon his forehead, running his hand through his messy hair as he shook his head at you.

"Violet, that was reckless of you. You could have been killed, or worse! What were you thinking? –"

"I didn't die, did I? And I'm fine now," you shrugged, letting out a tired sigh as you looked away, rubbing your arm as you let a pout appear upon your face. "It happened so fast. I just moved on instinct, is all."

"What sort of shit did you get in with your father anyways?"

"A lot. Trust me, it was a lot," you smirked, glancing up at the man and giving him a snarky grin. "In fact, it was kind of fun. Not going to lie."

"Geeze," Marko sighed, scratching the top of his head before letting out a deep, tired sigh, closing his eyes for a moment before looking down at you. "So… Vi," he began, your eyes connecting with his own as he spoke as seriously as possible, "what do you think of that guy? I mean… what is he? Your grandfather?"

"… I-I don't know," you sighed deeply to yourself, glancing away and turning your attention back to the center's sliding doors. Wondering to yourself if you should return to the vehicle before he got back, or not. "He… reminds me of dad. I-I cannot help but wonder if I can actually have a nice life with him, but then again… I'd probably just get in the way," you honestly told him, a pout lining your face as you continued somberly. "I have this feeling that I can learn a lot about my family, but should I? Maybe being clueless is better than knowing too much, even if it means I'm absolutely clueless to any problems that may come my way. I… realized that… no matter where I go, I'm going to end up being a liability. Maybe I should just live my life as some hermit," you pouted, but your eyes turned up to Marko as he let out an unamused snort.

"A hermit? Kid, that's stupid, plus you're too young for that sort of thing… You shouldn't be afraid to live the life you want," he decided to tell you, glancing around as if he was searching for someone, "and if you think this guy can give you what you want, then you should take it. If not, then we'll figure something out, right?"

"… I-I think –"

"Viola!" you heard someone shout from behind you, a yelp leaving your breath at the booming voice that caused everyone out in the courtyard to turn their gaze to the man standing by a blacked out vehicle. When his eyes found yours he glared, his gaze turning from you to Marko, and then back to you, and you could hear the young man gulping at the piercing eyes of his Boss.

"T-the –"

"I got to go," you decided to say, quickly shoving any sort of insecurity or intimidation you felt by moving in a swift manner and punching the taller man in the arm, causing him to snap out of his frightened trance to look down at you and let out a loud 'ow!', but you managed to grin up at him deviously, a pout forming on his face as he rubbed his sore arm. "I bet we'll see each other, 'kay?"

"Kid, why is the Boss –"

"Please, if you can, tell me if Rickie will be fine or not. Depending on the poison –"

"He'll be fine, Vi. Trust me. He's tough, but, ah," he chuckled nervously, noticing the Boss of Team Rocket was making his way over to the two of you, and he suddenly shoved your back, forcing you forward towards the much taller and older man, "you should go, if you have to."

"Oh. Okay. Bye," you decided to say, quickly moving away from his hand as you rushed as fast as you could to the dark brown haired man, noticing he was glaring down at you, and you couldn't help but let out a nervous chuckle. "Ah… hey, sir –"

"I told you to stay in the van –"

"I wanted to make sure my friends were alright," you huffed back, glancing back at Marko, who had quickly made his way back into a sea of grunts, before turning back to the tall man and smiling lightly up at him. "They are."

"You have friends here?" Giovanni couldn't help but ask, an amused tone in his voice, and you couldn't stop the snarky smirk that appeared on your face.

"I'm not my father's kid for not'ing," you grinned, but you quickly let out a cough, a nervous look appearing on your face at his unamused look, and you quickly began to look around, as if you were searching for someone to stare at. "So, ah… a-are we going? –"

"In a moment, but return to the car. I am waiting for –"

"Giovanni," you heard a confident voice speak from behind your back, and you turned to notice the man was clothed in a different attire compared to most Rockets, wearing a black turtle neck shirt underneath a fully white outfit. Your eyes gazed up at the black patch upon his left chest with the infamous crimson red 'R', and his dark blue teal eyes gazed down at you, for a moment, before he looked back to the Boss and gave a slight bow. "Sir, preparations have been made and –"

"Good. Archer, if you are done here, accompany me so we can discuss more about the current situation," your grandfather stated sternly, your eyes glancing between the two adults with a curious gaze, but as you noticed your grandfather was walking back to the vehicle you quickly rushed after him, noticing the curious look on the man's face. "Go ahead, child," Giovanni told you as he opened the door for you, and you let out a huffy snort, giving the man a glare before you slipped back inside. Don easily swooped back onto your shoulder as you moved back into the car, landing on the very seat you had been sitting on, his eyes honed on you as you slipped back into the vehicle, only for the door to close and for the man to stand outside, with that strange looking guy.

)(*&^%$# !

"Is she? –"

"She is," Giovanni stated sternly, giving his executive a dark glare. "I want you and Proton to interrogate and get rid of the traitors. I'm sure there are more of them."

"The fact that the man could infiltrate our organization astounds me," Archer decided to say, but the older man quickly shook his head.

"It doesn't surprise me one bit, but Antonio was working for someone, I'm sure of that… If you can, try to find out who it was. If not, then just get rid of the lot of them."

"Of course –"

"I'll give you a ride," Giovanni said, or rather ordered, to his executive, and the man nodded and gave the man a light smile as the driver came around the side and opened the door for the two men. The driver patiently waited for his superiors to step into the vehicle before closing the door, rushing back to the driver's seat to start up the car.

The three sat in silence, the honchkrow perching upon the girl's shoulder while the persian slumped down on the ground, annoyed that his seat was taken by the teal haired man. Archer was a bit nervous sitting so close to the Boss' persian, considering the feline has scratched him several times in the past, but soon his eyes fell upon the little girl sitting across the vehicle from them, her eyes staring out the window with a tired, yet irritated expression on her face.

The man wasn't surprised when the Boss was the first one to utter a word. "So, you know some of the grunts, do you?" Giovanni decided to ask, causing the girl's head to glance over, but only just slightly. "Is that boy someone you know?"

A soft sigh left your breath as you slumped down into your seat, figuring you're going to end up talking to the man, again, even if you didn't feel like talking right now. "Yes, actually. You know him as Frank," you decided to say, your eyes gazing back to the window, though you stayed seated in the seat as the forest quickly passed you by, "but he's a friend of mine back when… I lived with mum," you told him, a pout lining your face before you sat up in your chair and turned to the man. "If I hadn't run into him a few weeks back, I probably would still be aimlessly running. I doubt you would have found me. I was planning on jumping onto the first ship that would sail as far away from Johto and Kanto as possible, but… I suppose Frank stopped my plans," you decided to say, though recalling the memory made you crack a smile, and you couldn't believe just how much time has passed since then. Since… you were running for your life, from legit monsters that wanted nothing more than to kill you and get rid of you.

"Did he now?" you heard your grandfather state, but noticing you had stopped talking he sighed and slumped back into his seat, the fatigue of the day slowly draining him of his necessary energy. "… Anyone else?"

"Frank and Rickie. I'm surprised to see Frank, but I'm not surprised with Rickie. He always was an opportunist," you smirked, but then your smile quickly faded away as you let out a huffy sigh, "but Rickie got poisoned. I didn't have the chance to see if he was alright, or if Frank was just being nice and isn't telling me the truth… I hate it when he hides things from me," you pouted, but as you heard the two adults shifting in their seats, you quickly glanced over at them, sitting up in your chair, before staring back out the window, wondering where you were going.

"He's probably fine," you heard the stranger say, your head turning only slightly to glare in his general direction. "The boy, I mean. We didn't suffer any major causalities, and everyone who was placed in the pokemon center has mild injuries. Nothing too serious –"

"That's enough, Archer," you heard your grandfather speak, the man quickly closing his mouth at his words, but noticing your curious glance he sat up in his chair and let out a huffy snort. "I forgot to introduce the two of you. Viola, this is Archer. He's one of my executives, one of the best Rocket agents in the team."

"Thank you, sir," the man bowed slightly to your grandfather, but you gave the two of them unsure glances as Giovanni kept his attention on you.

"This is Viola Rosso, my granddaughter –"

"Actually it's –"

"It's Rosso," Giovanni spoke sternly to you, a pout and a snort leaving your breath as the man glanced between the two of you, before smiling and giving the man a slight nod of his head.

"I see… It's nice to meet you, young Rosso."

"Likewise, I suppose," you had to respond with an unsure look on your face, but your eyes turned to your grandfather as he let out a frustrated sigh, crossing his arms over his chest as he closed his eyes for a moment, seemingly deep in thought.

Noticing the conversation between the men seemed to have come to an end you slowly sat back into your seat, your eyes turning to look out the window as you felt your eyes growing heavier and heavier.

That is… until you heard your grandfather speak something you were hoping to avoid, at least for a while, "I must ask… considering he's my son and all, what happened to your father?" Noticing you didn't answer, Giovanni opened his eyes to glare in your direction, only for his eyes to soften when he realized the look of hurt that was in your eyes while you stared mindlessly out the window, as if you had just been kicked in the gut, for no reason whatsoever. "… I ask because –"

"I don't trust your… executive enough to tell you," you decided to state, though honestly, at this point, you've told so many people that you could afford to tell another. Just… you just don't know how much you should say. Should you tell _all~~_ the details, or just stick to the main points of your tale?

"Child –"

"I worry about the boy as well," you heard the Archer man state, and as he noticed your eyes glancing only slightly in his direction, he managed to give you a slight smirk upon his usually stern and neutral looking face. "At one point in time, I raised the boy, Silver. It's a shame that he had to meet an unfortunate end."

"… My father was kidnapped from his family when he was two," you stated rather bluntly, as you glared at the man. However, you noticed out of the corner of your eyes a pain filled look appearing on your grandfather's face, but you ignored it to glare at the man sitting directly across from you. "How could you say you raised him in any way?"

"Simple. I was ordered to, so Mr. Giovanni could get his work done," Archer exclaimed in a calm manner, though he didn't like the glaring look in your eyes, a glare he's seen oh too many times before, but on a much older face. "Us executives have been by your grandfather's side since he began his start as Team Rocket's great leader."

With just a glance, you could tell this guy was overly affectionate towards your grandfather, for some reason. As if he was heaven sent, a leader amongst leaders, a man deserving absolute respect. The idea made you inwardly gag, but… if your grandfather seemed fine with you speaking in front of this guy about personal matters, maybe it's alright to say something?

You sighed deeply to yourself, turning to ignore the blue haired man completely as you looked out the window, glaring at your reflection, noticing the slight tint of red glistening in your vision, and you brushed your brown bangs out of your face, wishing your hair was back to being normal. You miss your black hair. "… Do you want the short version or the long one?" you decided to ask, though you didn't turn to the adults to see their reactions or the looks they gave each other by your rather simple question.

"Long, please. I want to hear every detail," you heard your grandfather say, and through the reflection in the window you noticed Archer was staring at your grandfather with a slightly shocked look on his face, as if he wasn't used to such a kind tone of voice coming from the proud man.

"Long… eh?" you frowned, a deep sigh leaving your breath as you slumped into your seat, your hands slipping into your coat pockets as you slumped backward, staring at anything in the car, but them.

So, you started at the very beginning, with the death of your mother. When your entire world crashed down around you, and you didn't know what to do with yourself. You honestly told them, or rather your grandfather, that you left with your father because you didn't want to be alone. Because you didn't want to lose him either. You didn't want him to vanish from your sights.

But then you went into your suspicions of your father's job. How he acted like some assassin, not just some wandering spy and trainer, probably killing off people that the Pokemon League wanted dead, or rather, the Pokemon League Council. You never met the group, but your father talked about them, whenever the two of you were finally alone and you had questions you wanted answered. Reasons as to why he was always roaming around, and never seemed to be home… ever, anymore. Why you were both constantly on the move.

"Dad said that he was doing this so he could protect us, but I still don't get how doing someone's dirty work for them is having any sort of protection," you huffed, shaking your head at the mere idea. "But even so, my mum was dead, and at first I never put two and two together. A few months ago, things went sour. All of the sudden, he wanted us to move a lot quicker than usual, and at first dad didn't tell me what was going on.

"I figured it out on my own, after a while. He did something that the council didn't like, so they sent their own hoard of assassins after us.

"And… it was… that same guy who killed mum that killed my… dad," you managed to state, your voice shivering as you spoke, but you managed to keep your emotions and check and not cry, even if you really, really wanted to start bawling, again.

You continued on with your tale, telling the two about the details to how your father died, what you suspected happened. How you ran off like a coward, and knew that you were next. "First mum, then dad, then probably me. It's a process of elimination. I couldn't take chances… a-and no. I don't know if a body was ever found… but it would be nice to have one, at least." You couldn't help but sigh deeply, but a light, sad smile eventually lined your face.

You explained why you ended up on a ship bound for Vermillion, why you stuck around. How Lt. Surge told you about a relative you thought was dead, and how your friends helped you make your decisions. "You told me to make a choice," you decided to say, once you were finished, refusing to look any of the adults in the eyes as you stared gloomily out the window, unable to cry anymore, but not able to look the least bit happy, either. "I know you want that information out of me. I'm not stupid. If I was just a little bit stronger, a bit more knowledgeable, not so naïve, perhaps I could just… just put all the pieces together and figure out who that guy was and why my parents had to die… but… I just don't know. I don't, and it hurts that I don't.

"Staying with my parents' friends isn't a good decision. I don't want to bring about any sort of harm onto them. I-I cannot bare to see more people die cause of me… I could just leave," you decided to say, ignoring their gazes entirely as you spoke your thoughts out loud, knowing it was all being overheard by the adults and the pokemon around you. "Run off and disappear entirely. Change my identity and live on the hope that I can leave this painful past behind me, and always live in fear. I-I just… I want the truth," you honestly admitted, glaring as you stared out the window. "I want to know why my parents are dead. I want to know why I have a price on my head. I-I just want to know… why I'm so gods damn important. I don't understand it. I'm not something special. I'm just a kid.

"I hate not knowing. I hate that I'm too weak to know, it seems. I wish I was stronger," you sighed, letting your lips close shut as you found yourself looking out the window, ignoring the men, hoping you could let this conversation die down, even if a tense atmosphere lingered in the air around you.

"You're right," you finally heard a voice speak to you, your eyes staring through the window's reflection to notice a thoughtful look crossing your grandfather's face. "Your parents probably kept too much from you, but then again your father only wanted what was best for you. Our family's secrets are… extensive. We naturally bring harm to those we care about, only because others seek us out, either wanting our deaths or desiring to wield the powers we have. But as I've stated before," he continued with a huff, your head slowly turning to look at his weary, yet stern, looking face, "our family has enemies, and you need to learn to deal with the idea of being in danger for the rest of your life. It's how it goes, sadly. We're cursed. Even your father cannot break that cycle. It'd take generations of living in the shadows, away from the eyes of society, to truly escape our torment… That's just not possible, honestly.

"So the question is, what would you rather do? Live with people that can provide the proper care for you or linger amongst a group of people who will always bring about harm? –"

"I want to know," you huffed, staring back at the man, ignoring the executive fellow completely, as if the only creatures in the vehicle was just you and your grandfather, and you didn't have to worry about your insecurities being seen by complete strangers, "first… If I stay, will you make me stronger?"

"Stronger how? –"

"Physically. Mentally. All of it. I'm a weak child. I know that," you pouted, your eyes slowly turning to look out the window once more as you fought back the need to start tearing up. "I can't keep living like this, knowing I can't even protect those I care about. If I have to protect anyone, can I even do that? I-I don't think I can… and honestly… I'd rather be with family then on my own, right now," you honestly stated, your eyes slowing turning back to stare your grandfather in the eyes. "Teach me and I'll stay. That's my decision."

"I see," he responded, letting a sigh leave his breath before he began to give you a slight smirk. "Trying to not make the choice on your own."

"That's not –"

"If that is what you wish, then fine, but understand that I cannot take care of you all the time. I have a team to run. For me, the team comes first."

"First before family?" you decided to say, but he quickly shook his head.

"No, but when it comes to keeping an eye on you, then yes. You're my one and only granddaughter, and I will take care of you, even if we're the only Rossos left… If you don't get in the way and follow my rules, then I'll accept those terms," he told you, causing you to slightly nod your head, your eyes looking away.

But before Giovanni could tell you to give him a verbal response, not a silent one, you meekly spoke, "Yes… Okay… I want to stay with you, please. I'll follow your rules, within reason."

"Fine… great. I'm glad this is settled," he smirked, though you could tell his grin was forced. You noticed Archer didn't dare utter a word, for fear of his punishment if he were to interrupt this very personal and intimate moment. Still… for some reason, you felt alright with this decision.

Yes… from now on… you guess you're living with this Team Rocket…

Just as long as you get to stay with your grandfather and learn about him, about your family, then fine. You'll agree to this.

Even if… you're still not very sure… if you should be raised by this band of criminals or not. If you want to end up like a criminal, or not.

If you want to be like your grandfather… or not…

! #$%^&*()

 **And… that's the end!**

 **Of the 1** **st** **part!**

 **Thank you guys so much for reading this story. I enjoyed writing it, and any comments and follows you guys gave me was very motivating.**

 **I just want to say that I plan on posting… maybe the 1** **st** **to 2** **nd** **chapters into the part 2, but I'll stop after that. I am getting close to finishing the 2** **nd** **parter, or rather I'm getting close to its climax, but I left a lot of questions out in the open.**

 **Like, is Viola and Giovanni going to get along? How will Viola adjust to her new life within Team Rocket? And will she ultimately become a bad guy?**

 **As well as answering the family-personal questions, but honestly, I still haven't gone too in depth with those particular questions, yet. Maybe, but we'll see.**

 **I know my writing style is a bit long winded, but I do try to write my thoughts down as best I can. It's hard to cut things out and change the order of the events I want to tell. I'll be honest, when it comes to this story, I didn't give it too much thought. I just knew the beginning and the end, and knew I had to fill in the middle, somehow. I'll admit, the ship arc was a bit long winded, even for me. It took me a while to stay motivated to keep writing that part of the story, but Viola HAD to flee, and needed a way to be transported from one spot to the next. Why not run into some other OC friends and a Lt. Surge along the way?**

 **The 2** **nd** **part is when I truly start to answer the questions that I've purposely left out of the story, but if there are any questions you want me to answer, you can certainly comment about them. There are only so many parts to this story I remember writing, so I may end up repeating myself and I may also forget to answer some questions I left hanging up in the air.**

 **So… YEAH! That's about it! When I post the new story I'm going to add a bit more to the author's notes that I haven't written here, but once more, THANK YOU GUYS for reading through my story and I hope you've ENJOYED the story so far.**


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